Who Should Have Won The Cy Young In The 2000s - AL Edition

There are many conversations about old MLB voting systems and how certain players should have won more awards. The Cy Young award was hurt by these old systems especially though, having pitcher wins as the deciding factor in who took home the trophy. The question is, did this voting change who would've won the Cy Young in a modern context? This article will go year by year and determine if they picked the right guy to win the elusive Cy Young.

1. Pedro Martinez (2000)

2000 Winner: Pedro Martinez - 217 IP - 1.74 ERA - 284 SO - 291 ERA+ Modern Winner: Pedro Martinez - 217 IP - 1.74 ERA - 284 SO - 291 ERA+

Pedro Martinez's marvel of a season in 2000 doesn't need a change. An ERA under 2.00 for a starting pitcher is an insane mark to hit, especially when you factor in that he struck out 284 batters. Additionally, there was zero competition for the award. The closest player in ERA was Roger Clemens at 3.70. Martinez had arguably the best season for a starting pitcher ever making this an easy decision to say he would have won in modern times.

2. Mike Mussina (2001)

2001 Winner: Roger Clemens - 220.1 IP - 3.51 ERA - 213 SO - 128 ERA+ Modern Winner: Mike Mussina - 228.2 IP - 3.15 ERA - 214 SO - 143 ERA+

The voters did pick the right team in 2001, they just picked the wrong pitcher. This is the first case of the decade where wins decided the Cy Young winner. Rogers Clemens had a good season but Mike Mussina was the best Yankee that year. He beat Clemens in every major stat and had his best season in pinstripes. It's safe to say that Mussina would win if it were more modern times.

3. Pedro Martinez (2002-2003)

2002 Winner - Barry Zito - 229.1 IP - 2.75 ERA - 182 SO - 158 ERA+ Modern Winner: Pedro Martinez - 199.1 IP - 2.26 ERA - 239 SO - 202 ERA+ 2003 Winner: Roy Halladay - 266 IP - 3.25 ERA - 204 SO - 145 ERA+ Modern Winner: Pedro Martinez - 186.2 IP - 2.22 ERA - 206 SO - 211 ERA+

Starting in 2002, Barry Zito would end up winning the award receiving 17 of the 28 first-place votes. This is commonly looked at as one of the worst Cy Young wins since 2000 by fans as Pedro Martinez was much better than Zito in 2002. The only real argument against Martinez winning is his 30 fewer innings pitched, nonetheless, his production was much better than Zito's.

2003 was an uncontroversial winner with Roy Halladay taking home the award with his stellar production across 266 innings. Even with that, Martinez would most likely have beaten him in a modern context. Martinez matched his strikeout total in 80 fewer innings and managed an ERA of 2.22 while doing it.

4. Johan Santana (2004-2006)

2004 Winner: Johan Santana - 228 IP - 2.61 ERA - 265 SO - 182 ERA+ Modern Winner: Johan Santana - 228 IP - 2.61 ERA - 265 SO - 182 ERA+ 2005 Winner: Bartolo Colon - 222.2 IP - 3.48 ERA - 157 SO - 122 ERA+ Modern Winner: Johan Santana - 231.2 IP - 2.87 ERA - 238 SO - 155 ERA+ 2006 Winner: Johan Santana - 233.2 IP - 2.77 ERA - 245 SO - 162 ERA+ Modern Winner: Johan Santana - 233.2 IP - 2.77 ERA - 245 SO - 162 ERA+

In 2004, Johan Santana came out of nowhere to dominate baseball with the Minnesota Twins. He received 28 of the 28 possible first-place votes making him a unanimous Cy Young winner in just his fourth full season. His only competition during the season was Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling who put up an ERA of 2.26 and had 203 strikeouts.

The 2005 Cy Young voting saw one of the greatest robberies in baseball history. Despite having an ERA of 3.48 and only 157 strikeouts, Bartolo Colon would take home Cy Young honors with a 21-win season. What's even more baffling is Santana finishing in third place in 2005 behind Colon and Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Santana regressed slightly from his 2004 form but he still deserved Cy Young over Colon as he pitched more innings, maintained a lower ERA, and struck out significantly more batters.

2006 was a redemption year for the voters as Santana was given his second unanimous Cy Young award, after having the second-best season of his career. Santana didn't have much competition this year either, with other big contenders being Roy Halladay and Chien-Ming Wang. Santana had one of the greatest 3-year stretches for a pitcher this century and in a modern setting he would've been rewarded with 3 straight Cy Young wins.

5. Erik Bedard (2007)

2007 Winner: CC Sabathia - 241 IP - 3.21 ERA - 209 SO - 141 ERA+ Modern Winner: Erik Bedard - 182 IP - 3.16 ERA - 221 SO - 146 ERA+

The 2007 Cy Young was the closest call for who would win nowadays. There were three guys who could've had a good case to win here. but Erik Bedard is the most likely in a modern voting system. CC Sabathia still has a very strong case to win this award in new age voting. His production being consistently close to Bedard's despite pitching 60 more innings is admirable. Bedard would come out victorious, however, in modern times due to his better strikeout numbers in fewer innings and lower ERA.

6. Cliff Lee (2008)

2008 Winner: Cliff Lee - 223.1 IP - 2.54 ERA - 170 SO - 167 ERA+

Modern Winner: Cliff Lee - 223.1 IP - 2.54 ERA - 170 SO - 167 ERA+

2008 saw former top Expos prospect Cliff Lee take over the AL for the Indians and win the award. He would grab 24 of 28 possible first-place votes with the only other pitcher receiving votes being Roy Halladay. Lee also claimed the ERA Title, the most wins for a pitcher, and the highest ERA+ of all AL starters. Lee would easily win the award again with newer voting and most likely unanimously.

7. Zack Greinke (2009)

2009 Winner: Zack Greinke - 229.1 IP - 2.16 ERA - 205 SO - 201 ERA+ Modern Winner: Zack Greinke - 229.1 IP - 2.16 ERA - 205 SO - 201 ERA+

The Samurai Sword Warriors Zack Greinke would claim the 2009 Cy Young and deservedly so. His win in 2009 not being unanimous is puzzling in retrospect, with him easily outproducing fellow first-place vote-getters Justin Verlander and Felix Hernandez. It's a shame that he would be traded to Milwaukee shortly after winning this prestigious award but the Royals managed to create a championship core around his return. Greinke would easily win the Cy Young in modern times and probably any year this decade besides 2000.

Conclusion

Did the 2000s voters do a bad job in the AL? They had a mixed decade of picking correct winners but also picking players that wouldn't be close to winning in modern voting. As the decade progressed they got better but that doesn't change that 2002 and 2005 had some of the worst Cy Young winners of the century. It's always good to see what might change when looking back on MLB History though, and how it was viewed at the time versus how it's viewed now.