Julio Urias was named the winner of the 2021 Warren Spahn Award, which has been presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame since 1999 to the best left-handed pitcher in baseball. The award takes into account wins, ERA and strikeouts.
Urias is the second Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher to ever be named a Warren Spahn winner, joining Clayton Kershaw, who earned the hardware in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017. Kershaw and Randy Johnson are the only four-time winners of the Warren Spahn Award.
Urias went 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA, 3.13 FIP and 1.02 WHIP across 32 starts in his first full season being a permanent member of the Dodgers’ rotation. He was the Majors’ only 20-game winner this year and logged a career-high 185.2 innings.
Although pitcher wins has become a devalued stat in the industry, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes it still carries plenty of significance.
“It says a lot. I’m still from the school that wins matter,” Roberts said in September. “It’s still the object of the game, so when Julio takes the mound and goes deep enough to get a decision, more importantly, a win, that means something.
“People try to minimize a starting pitcher win-loss; the win matters. Certain guys have the propensity to win the baseball game when they take the mound and some guys find a way to lose games. Julio has done the former, which is great.”
Despite the stellar season, Urias did not place among the National League Cy Young Award finalists. He did receive votes, however, and finished in seventh place on the final ballot.
Urias named to All-MLB Team
In addition to receiving votes for Cy Young and being named the Warren Spahn Award winner, Urias was included on the All-MLB Second Team.
The Dodgers led clubs with five players earning All-MLB honors, with Walker Buehler and Max Scherzer both named to the First Team; and Trea Turner and Kenley Jansen joining Urias on the Second Team.
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