PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It doesn’t diminish the season Paul Skenes had, it was more acknowledging a pitcher that did great things over an entire year. Atlanta lefty Chris Sale won the National League Cy Young Award with 26 of the 30 first-place votes with the Phillies Zach Wheeler, who got the other four first-place votes, second and the National League Rookie of the Year finishing third.
The 35-year-old Sale was an amazing 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP with 225 strikeouts to only 39 walks in 177.2 innings. In September 3-0, 1.13 ERA, 28 strikeouts, five walks in 24 innings
Skenes, who started May 11, was 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, 0.96 WHIP with 170 strikeouts to only 32 walks in 133 innings. In September 3-1, 0.75 ERA, 34 strikeouts, six walks in 24 innings.
The last pitcher to win the NL Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award was late Dodgers phenom Fernando Valenzuela. The two Pirates to ever win the award were Doug Drabek in 1990 and Vern Law in 1960.