1990 American League Cy Young Award

[Guest AG/DC]

Talk of Bobby Thigpen got me thinking about his 1990 season, in which he was pitching in air he never breathed again. A lot of pitchers did.

I always think I have a good idea who the best pitcher in the league is. In 1990, I had no idea.

Vote for your Cy Young Award Winner. You get three votes, first, second, and third. I believe scoring goes 5-3-1.

(It's worth noting, that when comparing starters and relievers, that ERA+ is kind of a false stat in that, since ERA gets lower instead of higher, it becomes more distorted the lower an ERA gets. It's like ERA is acted upon by an exponent rather than a factor.)

Leading candidates are:

1. Roger Clemens, BOS: 21-6, 228 1/3 IP, 1.93 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 209 SO, 54, BB, 213 ERA+.
   
   
2. Dennis Eckersley, OAK: 4-2, 48 Sv, 73 1/3 IP, 0.61 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 73 SO, 4 BB, 606 ERA+.
   


3. Chuck Finley, CAL: 18-9, 236 IP, 2.40 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 177 SO, 81 BB, 158 ERA+.
   


4. Dave Stieb, TOR: 18-6, 208 2/3 IP, 2.93 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 125 SO, 64 BB, 140 ERA+.
   


5. Dave Stewart, OAK: 22-11, 267 IP, 2.56 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 166 SO, 145 ERA+.
   


6. Bobby Thigpen, 4-6, 57 Sv, 88 2/3 IP, 1.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 70 SO, 32 BB, 210 ERA+.
   


7. Bob Welch, OAK: 27-6, 238 IP, 2.95 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 127 SO, 77 BB, 126 ERA+.

You can look for other American League pitchers here, but those guys should likely provide your field.

AL Manager of the Year that season? Jeff Torborg.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

1. Clemens
2. Eckersley
3. Stewart

[metirish]

I would go

Welch - 1
Clemens - 2
Thigpen - 3

[Methead]

I remember thinking at the time that Welch deserved it. Upon looking at the numbers now though, it looks like:

1) Clemens
2) Eckersley
3) Stewart

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'll vote Clemens/Stewart/Welch.

[Guest AG/DC]

Crane Pool Re-Writing History
Forum Giving Clemens Record Eighth Cy Young

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Stewart
Welch
Eckerlsy

[Guest AG/DC]

metsguy goes all-Oakland.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Big Asshole Wins Big Honor
Roger 'Bedazzled' at Record Award; Jabs Wife in Ass with Syringe

[Benjamin Grimm]

="AG/DC"] Crane Pool Re-Writing History Forum Giving Clemens Record Eighth Cy Young

That's because we know a "titan" when we see one.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

1. Clemens
2. Stewart
3. Finley

[Frayed Knot]

Check out these stats at the end of Eck's line? -- 73 SO, 4 BB

[batmagadanleadoff]

Clemens should've won the 1990 Cy Young award unanimously. No one was close. He pitched in Fenway that year.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Bob Welch, 1990's AL Cy Young award winner, finished 9th in that season's MVP vote, behind his pitching teammates Dave Stewart (8th place) and Dennis Eckersley (6th Place). Clemens finished 3rd in that season's MVP voting.

[Guest AG/DC]

="batmagadanleadoff"]Clemens should've won the 1990 Cy Young award unanimously. No one was close. He pitched in Fenway that year.

See, my position is that this is really hard and that others are close.

Four walks.

[batmagadanleadoff]

="AG/DC"] Crane Pool Re-Writing History Forum Giving Clemens Record Eighth Cy Young

Let's redo the 1985 MVP vote.

[Guest AG/DC]

It's like he's going to hit Kadafi in the head with a fastball.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'd like to see the 1988 NL MVP re-voted.

I really thought Darryl was going to win that one. (And I'd much rather see the Mets end their MVP drought than their no-hitter drought.)

[batmagadanleadoff]

="AG/DC"] ="batmagadanleadoff"]Clemens should've won the 1990 Cy Young award unanimously. No one was close. He pitched in Fenway that year. See, my position is that this is really hard and that others are close. Four walks.

There's different levels of close. There's close to Clemens, on the one hand, but not close enough that anyone could reasonbly claim that Clemens wasn't the best. As I see it. For me, the decision becomes easy once I eliminate the relievers from first place consideration. I don't see how Eck or Thigpen could match Clemens in value pitching less than one third of the innings Clemens pitched. Welch had a gaudy won-loss record because he was very good (though not Clemens good) and received more run support than just about anybody in the AL that season. And then there are the ballparks - Fenway and the Oakland Coliseum - two stadiums about as far apart as possible on the spectrum of offense for 1990.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Bob Welch, overproduced

[batmagadanleadoff]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'd like to see the 1988 NL MVP re-voted. I really thought Darryl was going to win that one. (And I'd much rather see the Mets end their MVP drought than their no-hitter drought.)

I was deciding between 88 and 85 in my Gooden post. 88- I vote Straw.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

Name VORP/WARP3
Clemens 77.2/13.0
Stewart 71.1/7.9
Finley 61.1/10.2
Hanson 50.9/8.7
Stieb 49.9/7.7
Eckersley 32.5/7.8
Thigpen 30.2/8.7
Welch 47.7/5.1
Boddicker 44.0/8.5
Hibbard 43.4/5.9
Appier 41.2/7.4


I think it's Clemens, easily. Past that, not so sure.

[Valadius]

Eckersley
Clemens
Stewart

[Gwreck]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: (And I'd much rather see the Mets end their MVP drought than their no-hitter drought.)

???

Really?

[Gwreck]

1. Clemens
2. Eckersley
3. Stewart

Unfortunately.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Gwreck wrote: ="Benjamin Grimm"](And I'd much rather see the Mets end their MVP drought than their no-hitter drought.) ??? Really?

Yeah! Without a doubt! I'd much rather see six months of greatness than nine innings worth.

I don't even care about the no-hitter thing anymore. In a way, I'd like the Mets to finish their 50th season (2011) as no-hit virgins.

[Guest AG/DC]

Vince Coleman Firecracker wrote: Name VORP/WARP3 Clemens 77.2/13.0 Stewart 71.1/7.9 Finley 61.1/10.2 Hanson 50.9/8.7 Stieb 49.9/7.7 Eckersley 32.5/7.8 Thigpen 30.2/8.7 Welch 47.7/5.1 Boddicker 44.0/8.5 Hibbard 43.4/5.9 Appier 41.2/7.4 I think it's Clemens, easily. Past that, not so sure.

I hear you, but I think VoRP is pretty unreliavle for relievers. Does it factor in leverage like m.e.t.b.o.t. does?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Does metbot do defensive leverage? If so, what does he do to separate the pitching from the fielding?

[Frayed Knot]

Gwreck wrote: ="Benjamin Grimm"](And I'd much rather see the Mets end their MVP drought than their no-hitter drought.) ??? Really?

Oh HELL Yeah!!

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

AG/DC wrote: I hear you, but I think VoRP is pretty unreliavle for relievers. Does it factor in leverage like m.e.t.b.o.t. does?

Nope.

]No adjustment for pitcher leverage: Because of the huge differences in playing time between starting pitchers and relievers, VORP values even the most elite relievers at a far lower rate than a comparable starter. The best reliever in baseball last season, Boston�s Jonathan Papelbon, ranked only 37th in VORP, roughly on a par with Scott Kazmir. While many feel that this is an appropriate valuation, some metrics give relievers extra credit for pitching in higher-leverage situations than their starting pitcher colleagues. We�ll have more about those systems in future editions.

Yeah, relievers get killed on VORP (perhaps deservedly), but I can't see giving the CY Young to a relief pitcher when a starter has an all-time great season.