A disappointing finish to the 2019 season for the Los Angeles Dodgers has carried over into MLB awards, with Hyun-Jin Ryu the latest to fall victim as New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom repeated as National League Cy Young Award winner.
deGrom received 29 of 30 first-place votes, and one second-place vote. Ryu earned the lone remaining first-place vote, received 10 for second place and eight for third, totaling 88 points. Max Scherzer received eight second- and third-place votes and placed third with 72 overall points.
Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw also appeared on the final Cy Young ballot, receiving one third-place vote and finishing eighth. His Dodgers teammate, Walker Buehler, was ninth with one vote for fourth place.
The contract extension Kershaw signed last December included incentives: $1.5 million for winning the NL Cy Young Award or $500,000 for finishing second or third in the voting.
Last year Kershaw had his streak of seven consecutive top-five finishes snapped as he failed to so much as receive a single vote. The stretch stretch tied an all-time record that was initially set by Hall-of-Famer Mike Maddux.
During his seven-year run, Kershaw won the Cy Young in 2011, 2013 and 2014; finished second in 2012 and 2017, and placed third in 2015. While the 2018 campaign was one marred by injury, Kershaw bounced back this past season with better results.
His ERA did rise from 2.73 to 3.03, and Kershaw allowed a career-worst 28 home runs after surrendering 17 last season, but the left-hander went 16-5 and had 189 strikeouts. It was his most since leading the Majors with 301 strikeouts in 2015.
As for Buehler — a presumptive future Cy Young Award winner — it’s the first time appearing on the final ballot in his young career. Free from an innings limit, Buehler went 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA, 3.01 FIP and 1.04 WHIP in a career-high 30 starts.
He recorded 215 strikeouts against 37 walks over 182.1 innings pitched. Buehler’s emergence earned him trust from the Dodgers to take the ball in some of the team’s most important games.
The 23-year-old was tabbed for the Game 1 start in the National League Division Series so that he would be available on regular rest in a potential fifth game. That came to fruition, and Buehler answered the bell by holding the Washington Nationals to one run over 6.2 innings.
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