Bieber, Bauer bring Cy honor back to its roots

This browser does not support the video element.

Exactly 100 miles south of Progressive Field and 200 miles northeast of Great American Ball Park is Newcomerstown, Ohio, where Denton True ¡°Cy¡± Young breathed his last breath 65 years ago this month. Not long after Young¡¯s death, Major League Baseball introduced a prestigious pitching prize bearing the name of the Ohio farm boy who had set an unbreakable record with 511 career victories.

The Cy Young Award returned to its roots Wednesday night. The Indians¡¯ Shane Bieber and the Reds¡¯ Trevor Bauer are California kids, but they made the Buckeye State a Cy state with Bieber¡¯s unanimous victory in the American League and Bauer¡¯s convincing claim of the National League honor in an announcement on MLB Network.

? Every Cy Young Award winner

While Bieber is the fifth Indians pitcher to win the award, Bauer became the first Reds representative, which means this is the first Cy sweep for Cy¡¯s home state -- a victory for tiny Tuscarawas County, where Young was born and died, and for the two postseason clubs who call Ohio home.

¡°That¡¯s the way it should be,¡± Bieber said. ¡°Obviously we¡¯ll have some challengers, but hopefully we can keep the Cy Young in Ohio for years to come.¡±

Bieber garnered all 30 first-place votes, becoming the first unanimous winner of the Cy Young since Clayton Kershaw (2014) and just the 24th overall. The Twins¡¯ Kenta Maeda and the Blue Jays¡¯ Hyun Jin Ryu finished second and third, respectively.

? Complete Awards coverage

This browser does not support the video element.

Bauer, who received 27 first-place votes, can now add the Cy Young win to his r¨¦sum¨¦ in his free-agent foray after beating out the Cubs¡¯ Yu Darvish (three first-place votes) and the Mets¡¯ Jacob deGrom.

¡°With all the amazing talent and great teams in Reds history, to not have a Cy Young winner in the past, it¡¯s high time that changed,¡± Bauer said. ¡°I¡¯m just very proud to bring that to the people of Cincinnati, who have supported the Reds for so long.¡±

The victory for Bieber and Bauer marks just the second time both Cy winners came from the same state, joining California in 1974 (the A¡¯s Catfish Hunter and the Dodgers¡¯ Mike Marshall). But Bieber and Bauer have more than just that trivia linking them. They are both products of the University of California system (Bieber went to UC Santa Barbara, Bauer to UCLA). And prior to the mid-2019 trade that sent Bauer south on Interstate 71, they were Cleveland teammates. It was Bauer¡¯s progressive persuasion that helped Bieber evolve from a soft-tossing strike-thrower to an absolute ace.

In 2020, both right-handers reached their Cy ceiling. Ohio was not a swing state; it was a swing-and-miss state.

That begins with the 25-year-old Bieber, whose 41.1% strikeout rate was the highest ever by a qualified starting pitcher. His 1.63 ERA was the lowest by a qualified AL starter since MLB lowered the mound in 1969, and his .167 opponents¡¯ average tied Pedro Martinez in 2000 for the lowest since ¡¯69.

? Here are the Cy Young Award vote totals

This browser does not support the video element.

OK, so the rate stats are unavoidably skewed by the shortened season. But Bieber¡¯s status as the fastest pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in a season (it took him all of 62 1/3 innings) is an achievement that holds up historically, regardless of the strange circumstances.

The key to it all was a five-pitch repertoire in which a commanding curveball (hitters went just 8-for-84 in at-bats ending on the pitch) was especially effective.

¡°A lot of that just came from confidence in my stuff, confidence in my ability,¡± Bieber said. ¡°I feel like, for the most part, when I¡¯m on, I was able to locate my stuff and locate my breaking stuff to where I wanted it to go. That was a big part of my success this year was to throw that curveball that I relied on pretty heavily.¡±

The young man who good-naturedly handled all of your Justin Bieber jokes (and even a Topps card that confused him with the famous pop singer) made a name for himself. In winning eight games with the 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts, Bieber became the first MLB Triple Crown winner (as in, all of MLB, not just the AL) since Johan Santana in 2006. He also led all qualified starters in FanGraphs WAR (3.2), Fielding Independent Pitching (2.07) and strikeouts per nine (14.2).

Thus completed Bieber¡¯s ascension to true ace status after his humble beginnings as a preferred walk-on at UC Santa Barbara and his selection by the Indians in the fourth round of the 2016 Draft. He leapt into the national consciousness when he struck out the side at the 2019 All-Star Game at Progressive Field and is now a true household name.

¡°At that point in the All-Star Game, people were calling it a coming-out moment,¡± Bieber said. ¡°It was special to be able to share that moment with the people of Cleveland and, being at my home stadium, that was a sense of familiarity that got me a little more comfortable than I would have expected in that big moment. ¡­ I feel like that was a definite step in my growing process.¡±

Bieber was a no-brainer in the AL Cy Young Award voting. The brainy Bauer made it almost as easy on NL voters by finishing his season with a flourish.

The 29-year-old Bauer led the NL in ERA (1.73), ERA+ (276), WHIP (0.79), opponents¡¯ average (.159) and shutouts (two). He ranked second to Jacob deGrom in strikeouts (100) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.3).

Fending off deGrom, winner of the 2018 and ¡¯19 Cy Young Awards in the Senior Circuit, was no small feat. But whereas deGrom had an uncharacteristic 3.33 ERA in the final month because of a stray start in Philadelphia (three runs allowed in only two innings pitched) on Sept. 16, Bauer kept his foot on the gas (1.29 ERA in five September starts). When he completed eight dominant innings against the Brewers in his final outing on Sept. 23, he tweeted ¡°Gimme dat¡± in reference to the Cy.

This browser does not support the video element.

And they did.

¡°[The Cy Young was] always front of mind, to be honest,¡± Bauer said. ¡°A lot of people won¡¯t talk about it like that, but I view it as, really, the highest award a pitcher can win. ¡­ Just being recognized as the best at something is extremely intriguing to me, because it¡¯s a symbol of all the hard work, all the time in the gym doing repetitive tasks, all the bad years I¡¯ve had that have tested me mentally and just a testament to my work ethic and the people that have stuck with me throughout the whole process.¡±

Outspoken as he is, polarizing though he may be, Bauer¡¯s talent is undeniable. And much the same can be said of his influence. He helped usher in the widespread use of high-speed cameras that modern pitchers use to study their mechanics and shape new pitches. His impact was particularly palpable in 2020 -- not just in the way he pointed the Reds to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, but with Bieber baffling batters and with Mike Clevinger, another former Tribe teammate who had unleashed his potential with Bauer¡¯s help, becoming the central figure of the midseason trade market.

This browser does not support the video element.

Prior to the 2020 season, Bauer texted Bieber to inform him that the two had the exact same Vegas odds of winning the Cy Young.

¡°Why don¡¯t we go 2-for-2?¡± Bieber replied.

The two friends did exactly that, combining to make a ¡°state¡±ment. The Cy Young has come home to Ohio.

AL VOTE TOTALS

Shane Bieber (CLE): 30 (1st-place votes) - 210 points
Kenta Maeda (MIN): 18 (2nd), 4 (3rd), 2 (4th), 4 (5th) - 92 points
Hyun Jin Ryu (TOR): 4 (2nd), 7 (3rd), 5 (4th), 4 (5th) - 51 points
Gerrit Cole (NYY): 2 (2nd), 6 (3rd), 10 (4th), 4 (5th) - 50 points
Dallas Keuchel (CWS): 5 (2nd), 4 (3rd), 5 (4th), 4 (5th) - 46 points
Lance Lynn (TEX): 1 (2nd), 3 (3rd), 4 (4th), 1 (5th) - 22 points
Lucas Giolito (CWS): 3 (3rd), 2 (4th), 5 (5th) - 18 points
Chris Bassitt (OAK): 2 (3rd), 1 (4th), 2 (5th) - 10 points
Dylan Bundy (LAA): 1 (3rd), 2 (5th) - 5 points
Liam Hendriks (OAK): 1 (4th), 3 (5th) - 5 points
Framber Valdez (HOU): 1 (5th) - 1 point

NL VOTE TOTALS

Trevor Bauer (CIN): 27 (1st-place votes), 3 (2nd) - 201 points
Yu Darvish (CHC): 3 (1st), 24 (2nd), 2 (3rd) - 123 points
Jacob deGrom (NYM): 3 (2nd), 23 (3rd), 4 (4th) - 89 points
Dinelson Lamet (SD): 5 (3rd), 20 (4th), 2 (5th) - 57 points
Max Fried (ATL): 4 (4th), 7 (5th) - 15 points
Corbin Burnes (MIL): 1 (4th), 10 (5th) - 12 points
Aaron Nola (PHI): 1 (4th), 1 (5th) - 3 points
Devin Williams (MIL): 3 (5th) - 3 points
Kyle Hendricks (CHC): 2 (5th) - 2 points
Zac Gallen (ARI): 2 (5th) - 2 points
Clayton Kershaw (LAD): 2 (5th) - 2 points
Zack Wheeler (PHI): 1 (5th) - 1 point

More from MLB.com

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com