Mets' deGrom wins NL Cy Young in near-unanimous vote
New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom received 29 of 30 first-place votes to take home his first National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, beating out the Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer and the Philadelphia Phillies' Aaron Nola.
| Pitcher | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob deGrom | 29 | 1 | 207 | |
| Max Scherzer | 1 | 29 | 123 | |
| Aaron Nola | 27 | 86 |
DeGrom also finished among the top 10 in Cy Young voting in 2015 and 2017. He was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 2014, too, making him the seventh pitcher to win both awards during his career.
The 30-year-old was dominant in 2018 despite a 10-9 record. He posted a 1.70 ERA and 0.91 WHIP while allowing only 10 home runs over a career-high 217 innings.
After giving up four earned runs in his third start of the campaign on April 10, deGrom didn't allow more than three in any of his remaining 29 appearances.
While accepting the award, he credited his parents for inspiring his competitive spirit and work ethic.
"I really do love competing." - 2018 NL Cy Young Award Winner @JdeGrom19. @Mets @OfficialBBWAA pic.twitter.com/A36MUVWEwN
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 14, 2018
DeGrom broke Scherzer's streak of consecutive Cy Young wins, preventing a third straight for the intimidating hurler. That happened even though Scherzer was arguably better in 2018 than in either of his previous two Cy Young campaigns. He went 18-7 with a 2.53 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and a career-best 300 strikeouts in 220 2/3 innings.
Nola was the clear runaway for the third spot. Kyle Freeland of the Colorado Rockies and Miles Mikolas of the St. Louis Cardinals also received third-place votes.