New York Mets knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey capped a storybook season by being named the National League’s Cy Young Award winner.
Tampa Bay Rays southpaw David Price captured Cy Young honors in the American League as the three-time All-Star compiled a 20-5 record with 205 strikeouts and a league-best 2.56 earned run average.
“I am speechless,” Dickey said. “But now that I have had time to reflect on it, it is fun to win an award you can celebrate with so many people. This is an award to be shared.”
The 38-year-old Dickey finished first on 27 of 32 ballots as he easily defeated runner-up Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“It’s a real honor, obviously being mentioned in the same breath as some of the best pitchers not only in history, but this year,” Dickey said.
Dickey, who had not won more than 11 games in a season previously in his nine-year career, finished with a 20-6 record and a 2.73 earned run average.
He also became the first pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to throw one-hit complete games with 10 or more strikeouts in two consecutive starts. He accomplished the feat over five days in mid-June.
Dickey is the Mets’ first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990. He previously had bounced around four different organizations — Texas, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Seattle — before joining the Mets two years ago.
Dickey is also the first knuckleballer to win the award.
“To say that a knuckleballer won the Cy Young, maybe it brings some real validity to what the pitch can do,” Dickey said.
In one of the closest votes in AL history, Price edged out Detroit’s Justin Verlander by just four points.
The 27-year-old Tampa Bay ace was first on 14 of the 28 ballots placed and second on 13 others.
Price, who broke into the majors in 2008, finished second to Seattle’s Felix Hernandez in the 2010 AL Cy Young race after going 19-6 with a 2.72 ERA.
He pitched seven innings or more in 23 of his 31 starts this season and allowed two earned runs or fewer in 23 games.
Dickey, Price win Cy Young Awards
