The Cy Young award is given out to the best pitcher in baseball from both leagues. This season there were two clear cut choices for this award. From the National League, Dodgers Clayton Kershaw dominated batters the ability to mix his pitches, but still deliver the put-away pitch. Tigers Max Scherzer had a breakout year that made people overlook his teammate Justin Verlander.
Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw
Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Clayton Kershaw was a star athlete in two sports. Many do not know that in high school, as well as playing baseball, Kershaw was also the center of his school’s football team. In 2006, he had a 13-0 season with an ERA of 0.77. Kershaw pitched a perfect game that year that included 15 strikeouts; the other team invoked the mercy rule after 15 batters struck out to start the game! He was selected in that year’s draft as the sixth overall pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In April 2008, Kershaw made his major league debut for Los Angeles. He gave up two runs and struck out seven batters. He finished his rookie season 5-5. In 2011, he won his first Cy Young award. He became the youngest pitcher to win the award since 1985 when Dwight Gooden won. He also won the NL pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in ERA, strike outs, and wins. To start out his 2013 season Kershaw pitched a complete game shutout. He finished this season with a 16-9 record and a major league best ERA of 1.83.
Detroit Tigers Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer was not an immediate star like Kershaw. He started his career as member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made his debut in 2008, coming in for four innings of relief, and he struck out seven batters. The Diamondbacks were impressed with his start and made him a starter. His first starting appearance did not go as well and he gave up five runs in four innings. He went back to the bullpen before getting promoted during the 2009 season. The next season, Scherzer was traded along with other teammates to the Detroit Tigers. He was optioned to Triple A during the season, but called back up and finished the season 12-11 with 184 strikeouts. It was not until this season that Scherzer emerged as a star. He started the season 13-0, something no other pitcher has done since 1986 when Roger Clemens did it. He finished the season as the only pitcher to win twenty games in the 2013 season.
