Barry Larkin, a 12-time All-Star, nine-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove winning shortstop, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in balloting verified by Ernst & Young.

Larkin, 47, will be inducted into the Hall July 22 at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with the late third baseman Ron Santo, who was elected last month by the Golden Era Committee. Also to be honored over Induction Weekend will be Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun with the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for baseball writing and television analyst Tim McCarver, the former major league catcher, with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting.

A total of 573 ballots, including nine blanks, were cast by BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years’ service. Players must be named on 75 percent of ballots submitted to be elected. This year, 430 votes were required.

Larkin, who was in his third year of eligibility, received 495 votes, for an 86.4-percent plurality. His vote total reflected a 24.3-percent gain from the 2011 ballot, the largest jump in one year to gain election since 1948 when pitcher Herb Pennock received 77.7 percent of the vote after having tallied 53.4 percent in 1947. Larkin’s jump is the largest for any Hall of Fame election in which at least 400 ballots were cast. The previous highest was the 16.4-percent jump by first baseman Tony Perez from 1999 (60.8) to 2000 (77.2).

Larkin’s election brings to 297 the number of elected Hall members. Of that total, 207 are former major-league players, of which 112 have been through the BBWAA ballot. Larkin is the 24^th shortstop elected to the Hall and the 11^th by the BBWAA. He is also the 48^th Hall of Famer who played his entire career with one club and the third to do so for the Cincinnati Reds, joining catcher Johnny Bench and 19^th-century second baseman Bid McPhee.

A Cincinnati native, Larkin played 19 seasons for the Reds and batted .295 with 2,340 hits, including 441 doubles, 76 triples and 198 home runs. He drove in 960 runs, scored 1,329, stole 379 bases and had more walks (939) than strikeouts (817). Larkin became the first shortstop to join the 30-30 club when he had 33 home runs and 36 steals in 1996. He was voted the National League Most Valuable Player in 1995 by the BBWAA and hit .353 in the Reds’ World Series sweep of the Oakland Athletics in 1990.

The only players other than Larkin to gain more than 50 percent of the vote were pitcher Jack Morris with 382 votes (66.7%), first baseman Jeff Bagwell with 321 (56.0%) and reliever Lee Smith with 290 (50.6%).

Players may remain on the ballot for up to 15 years provided they receive five percent of the vote in any year. There were 13 candidates who failed to make the cut this year (30 votes), including 12 of the 13 players who were on the ballot for the first time. The only first-year candidate who received sufficient support to remain was outfielder Bernie Williams with 55 votes (9.6%). Two-time American League MVP Juan Gonzalez got 23 votes (4.0%) and fell off the ballot in his second year of eligibility.

Other holdovers that will remain on the ballot in addition to Morris, Bagwell, Smith and Williams are first basemen Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Don Mattingly and Rafael Palmeiro; outfielders Tim Raines, Dale Murphy and Larry Walker; designated hitter-third baseman Edgar Martinez and shortstop Alan Trammell.

Bob Elliott, who has been a positive influence on an entire country for the past 30 years as a writer, columnist and ambassador for baseball and Canada, was elected the 2012 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

He will be honored with the award that is presented annually to a sportswriter “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing” during the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s induction weekend July 20-23 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Elliott received 205 votes from the 455 ballots cast by BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years’ service in becoming the 63^rd winner of the award since its inception in 1962 and named for the first recipient. Spink was a driving force of The Sporting News, known during his lifetime as the “Baseball Bible.”

Paul Hagen, an authoritative, analytical voice in Philadelphia over the past 25 years during a 40-year career, received 169 votes. Russell Schneider, a fixture of baseball coverage in Cleveland for half a century and the author of 13 books on the game, got 81.

The candidates were selected by a three-member, BBWAA-appointed committee and announced during the All-Star Game meeting July 12 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Voting was conducted in November through a mail ballot, a process that began in 2002.

Elliott has been a cornerstone and a sounding board for two Halls of Fame – at Cooperstown, in terms of paths to follow with veterans and the regular vote, and in the village of St. Marys in Ontario where the first pro game in Canada was played. He is the first Canadian writer to be honored.

Never before have there been as many Canadian players in college and pro leagues than in the past decade, and practically every one of them, their parents or coaches reached out to Elliott for advice and counsel. Elliott, known as “Boxer,” speaks the truth by investigating and researching all sides of the story, maintaining strong relationships with executives, players, managers, coaches, scouts, agents and fans with a high level of integrity and affection for the sport.

Elliott covered the Montreal Expos in the early 1980s with two Ottawa newspapers and quickly earned the trust and respect of the public relations department, front office, players and coaching staff. His move to the Toronto Sun allowed his talents as a writer to be appreciated by a wider audience.

The emergence of the Canadian pro baseball player closely parallels the emergence of Elliott as a major North American sports writing influence. In 2007, there were 750 Canadian athletes on scholarship at U.S. universities, colleges and junior colleges. At the same time there were 500 Canadian hockey players on scholarship in the States.

A former chairman of the Toronto Chapter, Boxer has served on several BBWAA committees and was the national president in 1999.

Two American League batting champions, two league leaders in runs batted in and a winner of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award are among 13 new candidates on the 2012 Hall of Fame ballot mailed this week to approximately 600 voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

They join 14 holdovers from the 2011 balloting in which second baseman Roberto Alomar and pitcher Bert Blyleven were elected. Candidates must be named on 75 percent of the ballots cast to gain entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In the 2011 voting, Alomar was named on 523 of the record 581 ballots cast (90 percent) and Blyleven on 463 (79.7). For election, 436 votes were necessary. The only other players on at least half the ballots were shortstop Barry Larkin with 361 votes (62.1) and pitcher Jack Morris with 311 (53.5).

Players may remain on the ballot for up to 15 years provided they receive five percent of the vote each year. First-year candidates in 2011 who received sufficient support to remain were first basemen Jeff Bagwell with 242 (41.7) and Rafael Palmeiro with 64 (11.0) and outfielders Larry Walker with 118 (20.3) and Juan Gonzalez with 30 (5.2).

Newcomers on the 2012 ballot include Bernie Williams, the switch-hitting center fielder on four World Series champs during a 16-season career with the New York Yankees. A .297 career hitter with 287 home runs, Williams won the AL batting crown in 1998 with a .339 average. The other new AL batting champ on the ballot is third baseman Bill Mueller, who hit .326 in 2003. One year later, Mueller hit .429 in the Boston Red Sox’ first World Series triumph in 86 years.

Outfielder Ruben Sierra led the AL in RBI with 109 in 1989 with the Texas Rangers when he ran second to the Milwaukee Brewers’ Robin Yount for the AL Most Valuable Player Award. Sierra drove in 1,322 runs over a 20-season career with nine clubs. Third baseman Vinny Castilla was the National League RBI leader with 131 in 2003 for the Colorado Rockies, his fifth season of driving in more than 100 runs in a 16-year career in which he batted .276 with 320 home runs.

Outfielder Tim Salmon was the AL’s top rookie in 1993 by a unanimous vote and went on to bat .282 with 299 home runs and 1,016 RBI over 16 seasons, all with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, including 2002 when he hit .346 with two homers and five RBI in their World Series victory over the San Francisco Giants. Other members of championship teams on the ballot for the first time are catcher Javy Lopez of the 1995 Atlanta Braves and infielder Tony Womack of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks.

Also on the ballot for the first time are pitchers Terry Mulholland and Brad Radke, outfielders  Jeromy Burnitz and Brian Jordan, second baseman Eric Young and infielder-catcher Phil Nevin. Others returning to the ballot include first basemen Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff and Mark McGwire; outfielders Dale Murphy and Tim Raines; shortstop Alan Trammell; third baseman-designated hitter Edgar Martinez and relief pitcher Lee Smith.

Writers with 10 or more consecutive years’ experience make up the electorate, which must return ballots by a Dec. 31 postmark. Votes are counted jointly by BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell and Ernst & Young partner Michael DiLecce. Results will be announced Monday, January 9, 2012, on the MLB Network and the Web sites of the Hall of Fame and BBWAA.

See O’Connell discuss the Hall of Fame voting process in this video…

Milwaukee left fielder Ryan Braun, whose slugging and clutch hitting helped the Brewers win the National League Central title, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Braun, who turned 28 last Thursday, was listed first on 20 ballots and second on the rest of the 32, submitted by two writers from each league city, to score 388 points, based on a tabulation system rewarding 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third and on down to one for 10^th. Braun led the league in slugging (.597), on-base plus slugging (.994) and extra-base hits (77) and ranked second in batting average (.332) and runs (109), fourth in RBI (111), tied for sixth in home runs (33) and seventh in stolen bases (33). He hit .351 in 148 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, who flirted with the Triple Crown all season, received 10 first-place votes and was the runner-up with 332 points. Kemp topped the NL in home runs (39) and runs batted in (126) and was third in the batting race at .324 behind New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (.337) and Braun. Kemp also led the NL in runs (115) and total bases (353).

Receiving one first-place vote apiece were Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder (.299, 38 HR, 120 RBI), who finished third with 229 points, and Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton (.289, 31 HR, 88 RBI, 105 R), who placed fourth with 214 points. Braun, Kemp, Fielder and Upton were the only players named on every ballot.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (.299, 37 HR, 99 RBI, 105R), a three-time winner, finished fifth, marking the 11^th consecutive year that he has placed in the top 10 of MVP voting. Rounding out this year’s top 10 were the 2010 winner, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (.309, 29 HR, 103 RBI, 40 2B, 110 BB), Cardinals right fielder Lance Berkman (.301, 31 HR, 94 RBI), Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (.302, 30 HR, 105 RBI), Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 8 CG, 220 K) and Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (.253, 33 HR, 116 RBI). In all, 26 players gained mention.

The election marked the fourth time a Brewers player won the MVP Award and the first in the NL. The franchise, which began as the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee a year later, was shifted to the NL from the American League in 1998. Brewers winners in the AL were Robin Yount as a shortstop in 1982 and as a center fielder in 1989 and relief pitcher Rollie Fingers in 1981. The only other Milwaukee player to win the NL MVP Award was right fielder Henry Aaron with the Braves in 1957. They moved to Atlanta in 1966 and have had four winners since.

Braun won the NL’s Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award in 2007 and became the 13^th former winner to be elected MVP, joining Howard, Pujols, Jeff Bagwell, Andre Dawson, Johnny Bench, Dick Allen, Pete Rose, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays and Don Newcombe. There have been eight dual winners in the AL, including Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander this year.

This was the 14^th time a left fielder has been honored in the NL, including seven-time MVP Barry Bonds. Other winning left fielders: Rose, Kevin Mitchell, Kirk Gibson, George Foster, Hank Sauer and Joe Medwick. Left fielders have won the award in the AL eight times: Ted Williams twice, Hank Greenberg, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Don Baylor, George Bell and Rickey Henderson.

Medwick in 1937 was the last NL player to win batting’s Triple Crown, which Kemp came close to achieving this year. His second-place finish was the 11^th for a Dodgers player in the history of the voting. Other Dodgers runners-up for MVP were Sandy Koufax in 1965 and ’66, Mike Piazza in 1996 and ’97, Pete Reiser in 1941, Dixie Walker in 1946, Duke Snider in 1955, Sal Maglie in 1956, Steve Garvey in 1978 and Adrian Beltre in 2004.

The voting:

Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers	20	12									388
Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers	10	16	6								332
Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers	1	4	11	9	1	3		2		1	229
Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks	1		8	11	6	3	1	1		1	214
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals			1	6	11	6	4		2		166
Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds			4	3	2	8	3	3	4	1	135
Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals			1	2	6	3	7	2	4	3	118
Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies						3	4	8	5	4	69
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies			1		1	1	6	2		3	52
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies				1	3	1	1		1	3	39
Jose Reyes, New York Mets					1	1		3	4	3	31
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers					1	1		2	5	2	29
Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies								3	3	3	18
Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks						1	2	1			16
Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies							2	1		1	12
Hunter Pence, Astros/Phillies						1		1	1		10
Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants							1	1			7
John Axford, Milwaukee Brewers								1	2		7
Michael Morse, Washington Nationals							1			1	5
Carlos Beltran, N.Y. Mets/S.F. Giants								1			3
Miguel Montero, Arizona D-backs									1		2
Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals										2	2
Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs										1	1
Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves										1	1
Carlos Ruiz, Philadelphia Phillies										1	1
Mike Stanton, Florida Marlins										1	1

Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, the unanimous choice for the American League Cy Young Award this year, added the AL Most Valuable Player Award trophy to his collection as well in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Verlander, 28, became the first starting pitcher in 25 years to be named MVP and only the second player in the history of BBWAA voting to win all three player awards. He was the AL winner of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award in 2006. The only other player to do so was pitcher Don Newcombe, the National League Rookie of the Year in 1949 and the NL MVP and Cy Young Award winner in 1956, all with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The election marked the first time any pitcher won the MVP since Oakland Athletics reliever Dennis Eckersley in 1992. The previous starting pitcher honored was Roger Clemens with the Boston Red Sox in 1986. Verlander won the AL’s Triple Crown of pitching with league-high figures in victories (24), earned run average (2.40) and strikeouts (250). The righthander also led the AL in winning percentage (.828 based on a 24-5 record), innings (251) and opponents’ batting average (.192). His victory total, which included a no-hitter May 7 at Toronto, was the highest in the majors since 1990 when Oakland’s Bob Welch won 27 games.

Verlander was listed first on 13 of the 28 ballots, cast by two writers from each league city, and totaled 280 points, based on a tabulation system rewarding 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10^th. He won despite not being named on one ballot.

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista, who led the league in home runs (43), slugging (.608), on-base plus slugging (1.056) and walks (132), received five first-place votes and placed third overall in the balloting with 231 points, behind Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (.321, 32 HR, 105 RBI, 119 R, 83 XBH, 39 SB), who had four first-place votes and was the runner-up with 242 points.

New York Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson (.262, 41 HR, 119 RBI, 136 R) received three first-place votes and was fourth in the voting with 215 points. Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (.344, 30 HR, 105 RBI, 48 2B) got two first-place votes and ranked fifth with 193 points. The other first-place vote went to Texas Rangers designated hitter Michael Young (.338, 11 HR, 106 RBI, 213 H), who finished eighth in the voting and received votes in all 10 spaces on the ballot.

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano (.302, 28 HR, 118 RBI, 104 R) finished sixth, followed by Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (.338, 27 HR, 117 RBI, 213 H), Young, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (.307, 21 HR, 91 RBI, 102 R, 26 SB) and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (.244, 31 HR, 99 RBI), rounding out the top 10. In all, 23 players received votes. Ellsbury, Bautista, Granderson and Cabrera were named on every ballot.

Verlander was the 10^th pitcher to win the MVP and Cy Young Awards in the same season and the seventh in the AL, joining Eckersley, Clemens, Guillermo (Willie) Hernandez in 1984, Rollie Fingers in 1981, Vida Blue in 1971 and Denny McLain in 1968. NL pitchers to do it were Newcombe, Bob Gibson in 1968 and Sandy Koufax in 1963.

It marked the 11^th time a pitcher has been named MVP in the AL as Verlander joined Eckersley, Clemens, Hernandez, Fingers, Blue, McLain, Bobby Shantz, Spud Chandler, Lefty Grove and two-time winner Hal Newhouser. Nine pitchers have won in the NL but none since Gibson in 1968. Verlander was the eighth former AL Rookie of the Year to win MVP, joining Pedroia, Rod Carew, Thurman Munson, Fred Lynn, Cal Ripken Jr., Jose Canseco and Ichiro Suzuki. Lynn in 1975 and Suzuki in 2001 won both awards in the same season.

The election was the ninth won by a Detroit player. In addition to Newhouser, Hank Greenberg also won twice. Other Tigers winners were McLain, Hernandez, Mickey Cochrane and Charlie Gehringer.

The voting:

Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers	13	3	3	4	1	2		1			280
Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox	4	13	4	1	4	1				1	242
Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays	5	7	4	4	4	1	1	1	1		231
Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees	3	4	4	8	6	1	2				215
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers	2		9	5	5	2	4		1		193
Robinson Cano, New York Yankees			2	2	3	6	4	5	1	1	112
Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox			1	1	2	6	8	3	3	1	105
Michael Young, Texas Rangers	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	7	4	2	96
Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox						4	1	4	6		48
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays				2			1	2		3	27
Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers					1	2	1	1	1		25
Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers							1	1	2	2	13
Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox									5	1	11
CC Sabathia, New York Yankees						2					10
Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers								2	1	1	9
Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays					1					1	7
Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers								1	1	2	7
James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays									1	5	7
Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees							1			1	5
Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians									1	2	4
Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals										3	3
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers										1	1
David Robertson, New York Yankees										1	1

Los Angeles Dodgers lefthander Clayton Kershaw, a Triple Crown of pitching winner with league-best totals of victories (21), earned-run average (2.28) and strikeouts (248), won the National League Cy Young Award in balloting by the BBWAA.

Kershaw, at 23 the youngest Cy Young Award winner since 20-year-old Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in 1985, was named first on 27 of the 32 ballots, cast by two writers in each NL city. Kershaw was second on three ballots and third on two, to score 207 points, based on a tabulation system that rewards seven points for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Kershaw, who ended the season with an eight-game winning streak, had five complete games and limited opponents to a league-low .207 batting average.

Philadelphia Phillies righthander Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 8 CG, 220 K), the 2010 winner, was the runner-up with four first-place votes and 133 points. The other first-place vote went to Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Ian Kennedy (21-4, 2.88 ERA), who tied Kershaw for the NL lead in victories and finished fourth behind Phillies lefthander Cliff Lee (17-8, 2.40 ERA, 6 CG, 238 K). Another Phillies pitcher, righthander Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79 ERA) rounded out the top five. Kershaw, Halladay and Lee were named on every ballot. In all, 12 pitchers gained mention.

Kershaw’s election marked the 10^th time a Dodgers pitcher won the award. He joins three-time winner Sandy Koufax, Don Newcombe, Don Drysdale, Mike Marshall, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser and Eric Gagne.

Halladay is the sixth Cy Young Award winner and fourth in the NL to finish second the year after he won the award. The others were Warren Spahn in 1958, Tom Glavine in 1992 and Brandon Webb in 2007 in the NL and Jim “Catfish” Hunter in 1975 and Jim Palmer in 1977 in the American League.

The voting:

Kirk Gibson, who directed the Arizona Diamondbacks in a worst-to-first season as winners of the National League West title, was voted NL Manager of the Year in balloting by the BBWAA.

Gibson, 54, placed first on 28 ballots and second on the other four of the 32 ballots, submitted by two writers in each league city, to score 152 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. He was the only manager in either league this year to be named to every ballot.

Of the other first-place votes, three went to runner-up Ron Roenicke, who led the Milwaukee Brewers to the NL Central crown, and one to third-place finisher Tony La Russa, who piloted the St. Louis Cardinals to the wild card berth and eventual victory in the World Series. Voting is done prior to the start of postseason play. In all, nine managers gained mention.

Gibson, a former outfielder who played on championship teams in Detroit and Los Angeles, was named manager of the Diamondbacks July 1, 2010 and had a 34-49 record as Arizona finished last in the NL West for the second straight year with 97 losses. In 2011, however, Gibson led the D-backs to a 94-68 record and the division title. Arizona pushed the Brewers to five games in the NL Division Series before losing the last game in extra innings.

Gibson became the second Arizona manager honored. Bob Melvin, now manager of the Oakland Athletics, won the award while with the D-backs in 2007. Gibson was also the fourth former winner of the Most Valuable Player Award to be honored later as a Manager of the Year. He was the NL MVP in 1988 with the Dodgers.

The others to do so: Frank Robinson, NL MVP in 1961 with the Cincinnati Reds and American League MVP with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 and AL Manager of the Year with the Orioles in 1989; Don Baylor, AL MVP with the California Angels in 1979 and NL Manager of the Year with the Colorado Rockies in 1995, and Joe Torre, NL MVP with the Cardinals in 1971 and AL Manager of the Year with the New York Yankees in 1996 (tied with the Texas Rangers’ Johnny Oates) and 1998.

The voting:

Detroit Tigers righthander Justin Verlander, who won the Triple Crown of pitching by leading the American League in victories (24), earned run average (2.40) and strikeouts (250), was a unanimous choice for the league’s Cy Young Award.

Verlander, 28, was named first on all 28 ballots cast by two writers in each league city for a perfect score of 196 points, based on a tabulation system that rewards seven points for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Verlander also led the AL in winning percentage (.828 based on a 24-5 record), innings pitched (251) and opponents’ batting average (.192). His victory total, which included a no-hitter May 7 at Toronto, was the most in the AL since 1990 when Bob Welch won 27 games for the Oakland Athletics.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim righthander Jered Weaver (18-8, 2.41 ERA, 4 CG, 2 SHO) was the only other pitcher named on each ballot and placed second. Tampa Bay Rays righthander James Shields (16-12, 2.82 ERA, 11 CG, 4 SHO) finished third, followed by New York Yankees lefthander CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.00 ERA, 230 K) and Tigers reliever Jose Valverde (2-4, 2.24, 49 SV). In all, 11 pitchers received votes.

It marked the ninth time an AL pitcher was a unanimous choice for the award. Three pitchers were unanimous selections twice – Johan Santana with the Minnesota Twins in 2004 and 2006, Pedro Martinez with the Boston Red Sox in 1999 and 2000 and Roger Clemens with the Red Sox in 1986 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998. The other unanimous winners were the Tigers’ Denny McLain in 1968 and the Yankees’ Ron Guidry in 1978. There have been 13 unanimous Cy Young Award winners in the National League.

This was the fourth time a Detroit pitcher had been honored. Verlander joins McLain, who won in 1968 and tied with the Baltimore Orioles’ Mike Cuellar in 1969, and Guillermo (Willie) Hernandez in 1984.

Verlander is also the first former winner of the AL Rookie of the Year Award to win the Cy Young Award. It has occurred five times in the NL by Don Newcombe, Tom Seaver, Rick Sutcliffe, Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden. Valenzuela won both awards in the same season, 1981.

The voting:

Tampa Bay pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, who went undefeated in five consecutive starts against American League East opponents in September as the Rays earned the wild-card playoff berth, was voted the AL winner of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award.

Hellickson, 24, was listed first on 17 of the 28 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city, second on five and third on two to amass 102 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. The righthander posted a 13-10 record and led major league rookies in ERA (2.95), innings (189), starts (29) and opponents’ batting average (.210).

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim first baseman Mark Trumbo (.254, 29 HR, 87 RBI) received five first-place votes and was the runner-up with 63 points. Another first baseman, the Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer (.293, 19 HR, 78 RBI) had four first-place votes and finished third with 38 points.

The other first-place votes went to New York Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova (16-4, 3.70 ERA), who placed fourth, and Seattle Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley (.273, 6 HR, 36 RBI), who was sixth, behind Mariners pitcher Michael Pineda (9-10, 3.74 ERA).

Hellickson became the 10th starting pitcher to win the award and only the second in the past 30 elections, along with the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander, the 2006 winner. It marked the second time a Tampa Bay player has won the award. The other was third baseman Evan Longoria, a unanimous choice in 2008.

The voting:

Voting was conducted at the end of the regular season. For more information on the voting process, read our Frequently Asked Questions.

The full schedule of awards, announced at 2 p.m. ET, each day:

Today: AL & NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards.

Tuesday: AL Cy Young Award.

Wednesday: AL & NL Manager of the Year Awards.

Thursday: NL Cy Young Award.

Monday, Nov. 21: AL Most Valuable Player Award.

Tuesday, Nov. 22: NL Most Valuable Player Award.