The Cy Young Award, officially the Cy Young Memorial Award, is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford C. Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955. The award was originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, but in 1967, after the retirement of Frick, the award was given to one pitcher in each league.
Each league's award is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Local BBWAA chapter chairmen in each MLB city recommend two writers to vote for each award. Final approval comes from the BBWAA national secretary-treasurer. Writers vote for either the American League or National League awards, depending on the league in which their local team plays. A total of 30 writers vote for each league's awards. Writers cast their votes prior to the start of postseason play.
As of the 2010 season, each voter places a vote for first, second, third, fourth, and fifth place among the pitchers of each league. The formula used to calculate the final scores is a weighted sum of the votes. The pitcher with the highest score in each league wins the award. If two pitchers receive the same number of votes, the award is shared. From 1970 to 2009, writers voted for three pitchers, with the formula of five points for a first-place vote, three for a second-place vote and one for a third-place vote. Before 1970, writers only voted for the best pitcher and used a formula of one point per vote.
History
The Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball Ford C. Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955. Originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, the award changed its format over time. From 1956 to 1966, the award was given to one pitcher in Major League Baseball. After Frick retired in 1967, William Eckert became the new Commissioner of Baseball. Due to fan requests, Eckert announced that the Cy Young Award would be given out both in the American League and the National League. From 1956 to 1958, a pitcher was not allowed to win the award on more than one occasion; this rule was eliminated in 1959. After a tie in the 1969 voting for the Cy Young Award, the process was changed, in which each writer was to vote for three pitchers: the first-place vote received five points, the second-place vote received three points, and the third-place vote received one point.
The first recipient of the Cy Young Award was Don Newcombe of the Dodgers. The Dodgers are the franchise with the most Cy Young Awards. In 1957, Warren Spahn became the first left-handed pitcher to win the award. In 1963, Sandy Koufax became the first pitcher to win the award in a unanimous vote; two years later he became the first multiple winner. In 1978, Gaylord Perry (age 40) became the oldest pitcher to receive the award, a record that stood until broken in 2004 by Roger Clemens (age 42). The youngest recipients were Dwight Gooden (age 20 in 1985) and Fernando Valenzuela. In 2012, R. A. Dickey became the first knuckleball pitcher to win the award.
In 1974, Mike Marshall became the first relief pitcher to win the award. In 1992, Dennis Eckersley was the first modern closer (first player to be used almost exclusively in ninth-inning situations) to win the award. Since then only one other relief pitcher has won the award, Éric Gagné in 2003 (also a closer). Nine relief pitchers have won the Cy Young Award across both leagues.
Steve Carlton in 1982 became the first pitcher to win more than three Cy Young Awards, while Greg Maddux in 1994 became the first to win at least three in a row (and received a fourth straight the following year), a feat later repeated by Randy Johnson.
Winners
+KeyYearEach year is linked to an article about that Major League Baseball season.ERAEarned run average (#) Number of wins by pitchers who have won the award multiple times*Also named Most Valuable Player (11 occurrences )**Also named Rookie of the Year (1 occurrence , by Fernando Valenzuela)Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (22 individuals )
Major Leagues combined (1956–1966)
YearPitcherTeamRecordSavesERAKs*Brooklyn Dodgers (NL) 27–7 0 3.06 139Milwaukee Braves (NL) 21–11 3 2.69 111New York Yankees (AL) 21–7 1 2.97 168Chicago White Sox (AL) 22–10 0 3.17 179Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 20–9 0 3.08 120New York Yankees (AL) 25–4 0 3.21 209Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 25–9 1 2.84 232*Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 25–5 0 1.88 306Los Angeles Angels (AL) 20–9 4 1.65 207 (2) Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 26–8 2 2.04 382 (3)Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 27–9 0 1.73 317
American League (1967–present)
YearPitcherTeamRecordSavesERAKsBoston Red Sox 22–9 0 3.16 246*Detroit Tigers 31–6 0 1.96 280Baltimore Orioles 23–11 0 2.38 182 (2)Detroit Tigers 24–9 0 2.80 181Minnesota Twins 24–12 0 3.04 168*Oakland Athletics 24–8 0 1.82 301Cleveland Indians 24–16 1 1.92 234Baltimore Orioles 22–9 1 2.40 168Oakland Athletics 25–12 0 2.49 143 (2)Baltimore Orioles 23–11 1 2.09 193 (3)Baltimore Orioles 22–13 0 2.51 159New York Yankees 13–5 26 2.17 68New York Yankees 25–3 0 1.74 248Baltimore Orioles 23–9 0 3.08 190Baltimore Orioles 25–7 0 3.23 149*Milwaukee Brewers 6–3 28 1.04 61Milwaukee Brewers 18–6 0 3.34 105Chicago White Sox 24–10 0 3.66 148*Detroit Tigers 9–3 32 1.92 112Kansas City Royals 20–6 0 2.87 158*Boston Red Sox 24–4 0 2.48 238 (2)Boston Red Sox 20–9 0 2.97 256Minnesota Twins 24–7 0 2.64 193 (2)Kansas City Royals 23–6 0 2.16 193Oakland Athletics 27–6 0 2.95 127 (3)Boston Red Sox 18–10 0 2.62 241*Oakland Athletics 7–1 51 1.91 93Chicago White Sox 22–10 0 3.37 158Kansas City Royals 16–5 0 2.94 132Seattle Mariners 18–2 0 2.48 294Toronto Blue Jays 20–10 0 3.22 177 (4)Toronto Blue Jays 21–7 0 2.05 292 (5)Toronto Blue Jays 20–6 0 2.65 271 (2)Boston Red Sox 23–4 0 2.07 313 (3)Boston Red Sox 18–6 0 1.74 284 (6)New York Yankees 20–3 0 3.51 213Oakland Athletics 23–5 0 2.75 182Toronto Blue Jays 22–7 0 3.25 204Minnesota Twins 20–6 0 2.61 265Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 21–8 0 3.48 157 (2)Minnesota Twins 19–6 0 2.77 265Cleveland Indians 19–7 0 3.21 209Cleveland Indians 22–3 0 2.54 170Kansas City Royals 16–8 0 2.16 242Seattle Mariners 13–12 0 2.27 232*Detroit Tigers 24–5 0 2.40 250Tampa Bay Rays 20–5 0 2.56 205Detroit Tigers 21–3 0 2.90 240Cleveland Indians 18–9 0 2.44 269Houston Astros 20–8 0 2.48 216Boston Red Sox 22–4 0 3.15 189 (2)Cleveland Indians 18–4 0 2.25 265Tampa Bay Rays 21–5 0 1.89 221 (2)Houston Astros 21–6 0 2.58 300Cleveland Indians 8–1 0 1.63 122Toronto Blue Jays 13–7 0 2.84 248 (3) Houston Astros 18–4 0 1.75 185 New York Yankees 15–4 0 2.63 222 Detroit Tigers 18–4 0 2.39 228 (2) Detroit Tigers 13–6 0 2.21 241
National League (1967–present)
YearPitcherTeamRecordSavesERAKsSan Francisco Giants 22–10 0 2.85 150*St. Louis Cardinals 22–9 0 1.12 268New York Mets 25–7 0 2.21 208 (2)St. Louis Cardinals 23–7 0 3.12 274Chicago Cubs 24–13 0 2.77 263Philadelphia Phillies 27–10 0 1.98 310 (2)New York Mets 19–10 0 2.08 251Los Angeles Dodgers 15–12 21 2.42 143 (3)New York Mets 22–9 0 2.38 243San Diego Padres 22–14 0 2.74 93 (2)Philadelphia Phillies 23–10 0 2.64 198 (2)San Diego Padres 21–6 0 2.73 154Chicago Cubs 6–6 37 2.22 110 (3)Philadelphia Phillies 24–9 0 2.34 286**Los Angeles Dodgers 13–7 0 2.48 180 (4)Philadelphia Phillies 23–11 0 3.11 286Philadelphia Phillies 19–6 0 2.37 139Chicago Cubs 16–1 0 2.69 155New York Mets 24–4 0 1.53 268Houston Astros 18–10 0 2.22 306Philadelphia Phillies 5–3 40 2.83 74Los Angeles Dodgers 23–8 1 2.26 178San Diego Padres 4–3 44 1.85 92Pittsburgh Pirates 22–6 0 2.76 131Atlanta Braves 20–11 0 2.55 192Chicago Cubs 20–11 0 2.18 199 (2)Atlanta Braves 20–10 0 2.36 197 (3)Atlanta Braves 16–6 0 1.56 156 (4)Atlanta Braves 19–2 0 1.63 181Atlanta Braves 24–8 0 2.94 276Montreal Expos 17–8 0 1.90 305 (2)Atlanta Braves 20–6 0 2.47 157 (2)Arizona Diamondbacks 17–9 0 2.49 364 (3)Arizona Diamondbacks 19–7 0 2.64 347 (4)Arizona Diamondbacks 21–6 0 2.49 372 (5)Arizona Diamondbacks 24–5 0 2.32 334Los Angeles Dodgers 2–3 55 1.20 137 (7)Houston Astros 18–4 0 2.98 218St. Louis Cardinals 21–5 0 2.83 213Arizona Diamondbacks 16–8 0 3.10 178San Diego Padres 19–6 0 2.54 240San Francisco Giants 18–5 0 2.62 265 (2)San Francisco Giants 15–7 0 2.48 261 (2)Philadelphia Phillies 21–10 0 2.44 219Los Angeles Dodgers 21–5 0 2.28 248New York Mets 20–6 0 2.73 230 (2)Los Angeles Dodgers 16–9 0 1.83 232* (3)Los Angeles Dodgers 21–3 0 1.77 239Chicago Cubs 22–6 0 1.77 236 (2)Washington Nationals 20–7 0 2.96 284 (3)Washington Nationals 16–6 0 2.51 268New York Mets 10–9 0 1.70 269 (2)New York Mets 11–8 0 2.43 255Cincinnati Reds 5–4 0 1.73 100Milwaukee Brewers 11–5 0 2.43 234Miami Marlins 14–9 02.28207Blake Snell (2)San Diego Padres14–902.25234Chris Sale Atlanta Braves18–302.38225Paul Skenes Pittsburgh Pirates10–1001.97216
Multiple winners
Twenty-three (23) pitchers have won the award multiple times. Roger Clemens has won the most Cy Young Awards, with seven. His first and last wins were 18 years apart. Greg Maddux (1992–1995) and Randy Johnson (1999–2002) share the record for the most consecutive awards won, with four. Clemens, Johnson, Pedro Martínez, Gaylord Perry, Roy Halladay, Max Scherzer, and Blake Snell are the only pitchers to win the award in both leagues. Sandy Koufax is the only pitcher to win multiple awards during the period when only one award was presented for all of MLB. Roger Clemens was the youngest pitcher to win a second Cy Young Award, while Tim Lincecum is the youngest pitcher to do so in the National League, and Clayton Kershaw is the youngest left-hander to do so. Kershaw is the youngest pitcher to win a third Cy Young Award. Clemens is also the only pitcher to win the award with four different teams; nobody else has done so with more than two different teams. Justin Verlander has the most seasons separating his first (2011) and second (2019) Cy Young Awards.
Pitcher # of Awards Years 7 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004 5 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 4 1972, 1977, 1980, 1982 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 3 1963, 1965, 1966 1969, 1973, 1975 1973, 1975, 1976 1997, 1999, 2000 2011, 2013, 2014 2013, 2016, 2017 2011, 2019, 2022 2 1968, 1969 1968, 1970 1972, 1978 1985, 1989 1991, 1998 2004, 2006 2008, 2009 2003, 2010 2014, 2017 2018, 2019 2018, 2023 2024, 2025
Wins by teams Only two teams have never had a pitcher win the Cy Young Award. The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have won more than any other team with 12.