MLB Cy Young Award Winners 2011: Tigers Ace Justin Verlander Easy Choice in AL

In the least surprising awards result ever, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander won the 2011 American League Cy Young Award. The question was not whether he would win, but how large the margin of victory would be. It turned out to be unanimous.

It became quite clear over the last two months of the season that Verlander was going to win the award, and certainly his numbers were outstanding. He flew by the magical 20-win plateau that the older, less educated voters love and was basically a given to win the award just because of that. 

But, digging even deeper into the numbers, it was obvious that Verlander was the best choice to win the award. He led the league in innings pitched (251), strikeouts (250), ERA (2.40) and finished second in Fangraphs' wins above replacement for pitchers (7.0). 

Verlander has established himself as one of the best and most dominant pitchers in all of baseball over the last three seasons. He has thrown at least 224 innings, struck out at least 219 hitters and his ERA has gone from 3.45 in 2009 down to 2.40 this season. 

While Verlander was the right choice for the award, a valid argument could have been made for CC Sabathia to at least get more love from the voters. 

Sabathia actually finished ahead of Verlander in Fangraphs' WAR (7.1) and had a better FIP (2.88 to 2.99) and xFIP (3.02 to 3.12). FIP and xFIP measures a pitcher's performance based on the factors that he has direct control over—strikeouts, walks, home runs. The difference is xFIP normalizes a pitcher's home run rate to a league average. 

Plus, Sabathia was pitching against significantly tougher competition in the American League East than Verlander was in the American League Central. 

That said, Verlander dominated all season long and is a completely worthy recipient of the highest pitching honor in baseball. He is an MVP candidate as well, but the competition for that award is fierce and he will find it difficult to break the stigma that some voters have with putting pitchers on the ballot.