MLB Cy Young Awards 2023: Yankees' Gerrit Cole, Padres' Blake Snell Win AL, NL Honors

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and San Diego Padres star Blake Snell have won the American League and National League Cy Young awards, respectively, it was announced Wednesday.

This marks the first-ever Cy Young award for Cole, who came close to winning it on multiple occasions in the past. Snell previously won the AL Cy Young award as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.

Cole is the first Yankee to win a Cy Young award since Roger Clemens in 2001. He beat out Toronto Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman and Minnesota Twins veteran Sonny Gray for the honor.

While the Yankees put together a disappointing 2023 campaign, finishing fourth in the AL East with an 82-80 record and failing to clinch a postseason berth for the first time since the 2016 season, Cole stood out as the ace New York hoped he would be when they signed him to a $324 million deal after the 2019 season.

Cole posted a 15-4 record with a 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 222 strikeouts in 209 innings across 33 starts. He led all of baseball in WHIP and opponents' on-base percentage (.259).

Additionally, the 33-year-old led the AL in ERA, innings pitched, opponents' batting average (.206), OPS (.581) and quality starts (24).

As for Snell, he's the first Padres pitcher to win the Cy Young award since Jake Peavy in 2007. He beat out Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen and San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb for the honor.

The Washington native is just the seventh player in MLB history to win the Cy Young in both leagues, joining Clemens, Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer.

Snell finished the 2023 season with a 14-9 record, 2.25 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 234 strikeouts in 180 innings across 32 starts. The only NL pitcher with more strikeouts was Atlanta Braves star Spencer Strider (281).

The 30-year-old led the majors in ERA, opponents' batting average (.181) and hits per nine innings (5.8).

While Cole is locked up with the Yankees for the foreseeable future, Snell is set to become a free agent after declining a one-year, $20.3 million qualifying offer for the 2024 season from the Padres.

Snell figures to be one of the hottest pitchers on the market and could very well find himself a new home.