MLB Season in Review: 2007 National League Awards

I've already received some heat for this decision, and that's justifiable.

Jake Peavy actually won the NL pitching triple crown this season, becoming only the second pitcher to do so in the National League since 1990.

Statistically, the two were very close. Webb, however, was superior to Peavy in the pitching stat that matters the most in my opinion: Expected Fielding Independent Pitching (xFIP).

Webb posted an NL-low 3.35 while Peavy finished at 3.46.

However, Webb didn't beat Peavy in every Sabermetric statistic. In fact, Webb trailed Peavy in both "Win" stats, scoring a 66.1 to Peavy's 77.0 in VORP and a 17 to Peavy's 18 in WSAB—although this number is slightly misleading in the National League, as it gives credit towards a pitchers' hitting ability.

With the proper adjustment, Webb is worth 2.4 more pitching wins than Peavy.

This is where opinion takes over. The Cy Young Award is not, in my opinion, simply given to the pitcher who had the best statistics; rather, it's given to the pitcher who had the best season.

Involved in this is what that pitcher did for his club as well as personal feats. The Diamondbacks made the playoffs, and the Padres were unable to win their wild card play-in game.

Webb and Peavy were both the aces of their respective rotations, but Webb's value to his team was substantially greater, as the the Diamondbacks' next best pitcher posted 12 fewer pitching win shares. By comparison, Peavy had Chris Young trailing by only 10.

Could you imagine the Diamondbacks with Doug Davis as their ace?

In addition, Webb went on a memorable streak after the All-Star break, posting three consecutive shutouts and going 42 innings without allowing a run.

This run came at what is the most important time of year in the major leagues, when teams prove themselves to be contenders or pretenders.

As I suggested in my AL piece, post All-Star statistics are vital to a pitcher's case in the Cy Young balloting. Here's what Webb and Peavy did during that time period:

Webb: 2.56 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 7.03 K/9
Peavy: 2.93 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 9.95 K/9

While both pitchers had incredible post All-Star lines, Webb was the superior pitcher.

In considering the numbers and the value of the pitchers to their respective teams, it's obvious to me that Webb is the appropriate choice for the NL Cy Young award.

I'm able to accept a case for Peavy; I just feel as if his season was not as impressive or as valuable as Webb's.

(Runner Up: J. Peavy)

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