Corey Kluber Wins 2014 AL Cy Young: Voting Results, Comments, Reaction

Emerging from the shadows of his breakout season last year, Cleveland Indians right-hander Corey Kluber took things to the next level to win the 2014 American League Cy Young Award:

Kluber beat out Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez and a host of other great pitchers to capture his first Cy Young, as captured by this MLB Network graphic:

Kluber came on the scene in 2013 with a 3.85 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 147.1 innings. Innings restrictions slowed him after the All-Star break, which kept him off the radar coming into this season.

Of course, no one could have seen Kluber's remarkable transformation coming. He went from a solid starter to Cy Young winner in the blink of an eye. The 28-year-old had a 2.44 ERA with 269 strikeouts and led all pitchers with 7.3 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs.

In making his case for Kluber to win the AL Cy Young Award right after the season ended, Jonah Keri of Grantland noted how Cleveland's inept defense provided a major boost for Kluber's candidacy:

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The Mariners were roughly a league-average defensive team according to Baseball Info Solutions's proprietary Defensive Runs Saved ranking.... Meanwhile, the Indians were ... absolutely atrocious. Per UZR, Cleveland ranked second to last in team defense, costing its pitchers about 82 runs compared to league average. By DRS, the Tribe ranked last in the majors, at minus-68 runs. Kluber managed to excel despite riding a defensive Hindenburg for 34 starts this season.

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As far as what the Cy Young win meant, Kluber had a typically low-key response when asked on MLB Network about his immediate celebration plans, via MLB Network PR:

This win and close vote seemed preordained on Oct. 22, as Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times tweeted the voting from the Baseball Bloggers Alliance was just as tight:

There was very little separation between Kluber and Hernandez this season. King Felix finished with 236 innings and led the league with a 0.915 WHIP and 6.5 hits per nine innings, per Baseball-Reference.com. There were compelling arguments to be made for both candidates.

Kluber's resume, combined with the lack of help he got from a dreadful defense, did push him over the top in this year's race. He also had to go up against some heavy hitters in the league like Hernandez and Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale.

The Indians didn't get over the hump in the American League Central this season after making the playoffs in 2013, yet their future seems brighter now. Kluber's recognition as the top pitcher in the AL and outfielder Michael Brantley's emergence as an All-Star has given the franchise two huge building blocks to work with.

Unlike the previous two Cy Young winners for Cleveland, CC Sabathia (2007) and Cliff Lee (2008), Kluber should be around for a while. He's not eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season, so the Indians have a stalwart to develop the rest of their young rotation around. 

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