Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals won his third Cy Young Award, making him the 10th pitcher to win the award at least that often.
Roger Clemens holds the record with seven (six in the AL and one in the NL). Randy Johnson won five times (four in the NL and once in the AL) and Steve Carlton and Greg Maddux four times each (all in the NL).
Other three-time winners in addition to Kershaw, this year’s runner-up, were Pedro Martinez (two in the AL and one in the NL), Jim Palmer (all in the AL), Tom Seaver (all in the NL) and Sandy Koufax (all in the NL).
Scherzer was the sixth NL pitcher to win the award in consecutive seasons. Maddux (1992-95) and Johnson (1999-2002) each won four years in a row. The other back-to-back winners were Koufax (1965-66), Kershaw (2013-14) and Tim Lincecum (2008-09). Successive victories have occurred five times in the AL: twice by Clemens (1986-87; 1997-98) and once each by Palmer (1975-76), Martinez (1999-2000) and Denny McLain (1968-69).
It marked the second time Kershaw, a three-time winner, has been the runner-up. He ran second to the Mets’ R.A. Dickey in 2012.
Scherzer and Kershaw were the only pitchers listed on every ballot.
Ballots from two writers in each league city prior to postseason play are tabulated on a system that awards seven points for first place, four points for second place, three points for third place, two votes for fourth place and one point for fifth place.
2017 NL Cy Young
Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Max Scherzer, Nationals | 27 | 3 | 201 | |||
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers | 3 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 126 | |
Stephen Strasburg, Nationals | 1 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 81 | |
Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks | 1 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 52 | |
Kenley Jansen, Dodgers | 2 | 5 | 6 | 22 | ||
Gio Gonzalez, Nationals | 1 | 5 | 5 | 18 | ||
Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks | 1 | 4 | 6 | |||
Jacob deGrom, Mets | 2 | 2 | ||||
Jimmy Nelson, Brewers | 1 | 1 | ||||
Alex Wood, Dodgers | 1 | 1 |
Below is a breakdown of the 30 individual ballots, submitted by two writers representing each city in the National League. Note that in some cases (*), if there are not enough eligible voters in one chapter, a voter from another chapter will represent that city. For more information on the voting, see our Voting FAQ.
Name | Affiliation | Chapter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ryan Fagan | Sporting News | ATL | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Ray |
Guy Curtright | The Sports Xchange | ATL | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | DeGrom |
Steve Gilbert | MLB.com | AZ | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Ray |
Jack Magruder | Fan Rag Sports | AZ | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Gonzalez | Greinke |
Sahadev Sharma | The Athletic | CHI | Scherzer | Strasburg | Kershaw | Greinke | Nelson |
Gordon Wittenmyer | Chicago Sun-Times | CHI | Scherzer | Kershaw | Greinke | Gonzalez | Strasburg |
Dan Szymborski | ESPN.com | CIN | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Gonzalez |
Zach Buchanan | Cincinnati Enquirer | CIN | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Ray | Greinke |
Thomas Harding | MLB.com | COL | Scherzer | Kershaw | Geinke | Jansen | Strasburg |
Jack Etkin | The Sports Xchange | COL | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Ray |
Mark Whicker | Southern California News Group | LA | Scherzer | Kershaw | Jansen | Strasburg | Greinke |
Bill Plunkett | Orange County Register | LA | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Jansen |
Keizo Konishi | Kyodo News | MIA | Scherzer | Greinke | Gonzalez | Kershaw | Jansen |
Jorge Ebro | El Nuevo Herald | MIA | Kershaw | Scherzer | Strasburg | Gonzalez | Jansen |
Tom Verducci | SI.com | *MIL | Kershaw | Scherzer | Strasburg | Greinke | Jansen |
Tom Haudricourt | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | MIL | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Gonzalez | Greinke |
Mike Puma | New York Post | NY | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Gonzalez |
David Lennon | NY Newsday | NY | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Jansen | Greinke |
Jayson Stark | At Large | PHI | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Jansen | Greinke |
Paul Hagen | MLB.com | PHI | Scherzer | Kershaw | Jansen | Strasburg | Gonzalez |
Bill Brink | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | PIT | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Gonzalez |
Adam Berry | MLB.com | PIT | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Gonzalez |
Bernie Wilson | Associated Press | SD | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Gonzalez | Greinke |
John Maffei | San Diego | SD | Kershaw | Scherzer | Strasburg | Greinke | Wood |
Alex Pavlovic | NBC Sports Bay Area | SF | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Ray |
Chris Haft | MLB.com | SF | Scherzer | Kershaw | Greinke | Strasburg | DeGrom |
David Wilhelm | Belleville News-Democrat | STL | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Jansen |
Jenifer Langosch | MLB.com | STL | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Jansen | Greinke |
Jamal Collier | MLB.com | WAS | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Greinke | Jansen |
Eddie Matz | ESPN.com | WAS | Scherzer | Kershaw | Strasburg | Jansen | Greinke |