Read the debate intro and Bleacher Fan’s argument that a reliever should win the Cy Young award.
No reason to beat around the bush on this topic. A reliever should not be eligible to win the Cy Young award, the award reserved for the best pitcher in baseball every season. While I could write all day about the myriad reasons giving the Cy Young award to a reliever makes no sense, I will try and limit my points to a select, impactful few.
The most important point to consider with this debate topic is the 30,000 foot view of how baseball has evolved in the modern era. Baseball is now a specialized sport. Back in the days of yore (that is a real thing), when pitchers were pitchers and hitters were hitters, the relief pitcher did not exist. Why? Because starting pitchers pitched complete games. Missing out on a complete game was rare, in fact.
Now, before the debate devolves into a, “it is impossible to compare yesteryear’s pitchers to modern pitchers” conversation, consider the Cy Young award’s name. The pitcher, his name was Cy Young (yea, it is a real dude), has an award named after him because he pitched for 22 seasons and recorded a whopping 511 career wins. He made a total of 815 starts, and completed 749 games. Think about that. Let it synch in. It is obvious this player deserved an award – no matter how many games he lost (also an admirable 316). Here is another stats to ponder: Cy Young pitched a total of 7,354 (and two thirds) innings in his career. He was an impressive pitcher by win total, effectiveness (his career ERA is just 2.63), and stamina. The award with his namesake should embody the pitching principles of his career. For that reason, a relief pitcher should not win the Cy Young award.
Relief pitchers toss 65-80 innings per year. Even impressive relief pitchers like Eric Gagne (who WRONGLY won the award in 2003), only pitched 82 and a third innings during the season. His ERA was very impressive (1.20) and his 55 total saves were a record at the time. But Gagne embodies the evolution and specialization in baseball. The game has changed and the pitching staff has been carved up into specialized roles. However, relief pitching specialists, like closers, do not achieve or embody the characteristics Cy Young did. Therefore, relief pitchers should not be allowed to win the Cy Young award. The award is conceived, designed and modeled after a starting pitcher.
Also, there IS an award for relief pitchers. It is called the Rolaid’s Relief Man Award. This award was created based on the changes and natural evolution of baseball. It accommodates specialized roles the closer, a role that has emerged as an official role only in the last 45 years (give or a take a few). Eric Gagne rightly won the award in 2003 – an award specifically designed to appreciate the value of a specialized, role-playing pitcher.
Baseball is a game of history. It is unique among sports in the world because records from the 1800s can be compared with records of the 1900s and 2000s. Baseball is working on its third Century! Over time, the game naturally evolves, and awards and achievements have also. To shoehorn new roles into an old award structure is an affront to baseball, and to history.
Now, a relief pitcher potentially winning the MVP award… that is a completely different debate.
