Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw joined the list of multiple Cy Young Award winners by earning his second National League honor in balloting by the BBWAA that was announced on MLB Network.
Kershaw, who posted a 16-9 record and led the league in ERA (1.83) and strikeouts (232) for the NL West champion Dodgers, was listed first on 29 of the 30 ballots cast by two writers representing each league city and second on the other one for a total of 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. He was the only pitcher named to each ballot.
The other first-place vote went to St. Louis Cardinals righthander Adam Wainwright (19-9, 2.94 ERA), who placed second with 86 points. Miami Marlins righthander Jose Fernandez (12-6, 2.19 ERA), the NL winner of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award earlier in the week, finished third with 62 points. In all, 10 pitchers gained mention.
Kershaw, 25, who won the award in 2011 and was the runner-up in 2012, became the ninth multi-winner in the NL and 17th overall. Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Steve Carlton each won four times in the NL and Sandy Koufax and Tom Seaver three times apiece. Other two-time winners in the NL were Bob Gibson, Tom Glavine and Tim Lincecum. There have been six American League multi-winners and two pitchers who won once in each league.
Roger Clemens is the all-time leader in Cy Young Awards with seven – six in the AL and one in the NL. Johnson also won once in the AL. Jim Palmer was a three-time winner in the AL. Other two-time winners in the AL were Denny McLain, Bret Saberhagen, Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez (who also won once in the NL). Gaylord Perry and Roy Halladay were one-time winners in each league.
It marked the 10th time a Dodgers pitcher was honored, going back to the first year of the award when Don Newcombe won for Brooklyn in 1956. Other Dodgers winners in addition to Koufax (whose victories came in 1963, ’65 and ’66 and were all unanimous) were Don Drysdale in 1962, Mike Marshall in 1974, Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, Orel Hershiser in 1988 and Eric Gagne in 2003.
The voting (7-4-3-2-1 scoring system):
2013 NL Cy Young
| Player, Club | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers | 29 | 1 | 207 | |||
| Adam Wainwright, Cardinals | 1 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 86 |
| Jose Fernandez, Marlins | 9 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 62 | |
| Craig Kimbrel, Braves | 4 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 39 | |
| Matt Harvey, Mets | 1 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 39 | |
| Cliff Lee, Phillies | 6 | 6 | 2 | 32 | ||
| Jordan Zimmerman, Nationals | 6 | 3 | 21 | |||
| Zack Greinke, Dodgers | 2 | 4 | 4 | 18 | ||
| Madison Bumgarner, Giants | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Francisco Liriano, Pirates | 1 | 1 | 3 |
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 (*), when a city does not have enough eligible voters, a voter from another city represents that chapter. For more information on the voting, see our Voting FAQ.
| Name | Affiliation | Chapter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guy Curtright | At Large | ATL | Kershaw | Kimbrel | Wainwright | Greinke | Fernandez |
| Danny Knobler | CBSSports.com | ATL* | Kershaw | Wainwright | Fernandez | Greinke | Harvey |
| Bob McManaman | Arizona Republic | AZ | Kershaw | Wainwright | Zimmerman | Harvey | Greinke |
| Jack Magruder | FOX Sports Arizona | AZ | Kershaw | Wainwright | Lee | Fernandez | Kimbrel |
| Paul Sullivan | Chicago Tribune | CHI | Kershaw | Wainwright | Zimmerman | Kimbrel | Fernandez |
| Gordon Wittenmyer | Chicago Sun Times | CHI | Kershaw | Wainwright | Lee | Greinke | Zimmermann |
| Mark Schmetzer | Reds Report | CIN | Wainwright | Kershaw | Zimmerman | Fernandez | Lee |
| Hal McCoy | At Large | CIN | Kershaw | Wainwright | Zimmerman | Liriano | Greinke |
| Patrick Saunders | Denver Post | COL | Kershaw | Wainwright | Zimmerman | Kimbrel | Greinke |
| Jack Etkin | Honorary | COL | Kershaw | Wainwright | Fernandez | Harvey | Kimbrel |
| Mark Saxon | ESPNLos Angeles.com | LA | Kershaw | Fernandez | Harvey | Lee | Kimbrel |
| Mark Whicker | Orange County Register | LA | Kershaw | Wainwright | Kimbrel | Fernandez | Harvey |
| Luis E. Rangel | Diario Las Americas | MIA | Kershaw | Fernández | Harvey | Lee | Wainwright |
| Manny Navarro | The Miami Herald | MIA | Kershaw | Fernandez | Harvey | Greinke | Wainwright |
| Drew Olson | ESPN Milwaukee | MIL | Kershaw | Kimbrel | Wainwright | Fernandez | Zimmerman |
| Will Carroll | Bleacher Report | MIL* | Kershaw | Wainwright | Harvey | Fernandez | Lee |
| Adam Rubin | ESPNNew York.com | NY | Kershaw | Fernandez | Harvey | Kimbrel | Wainwright |
| Michael Kerwick | Bergen Record | NY | Kershaw | Fernandez | Harvey | Lee | Wainwright |
| Ryan Lawrence | Philadelphia Daily News | PHI | Kershaw | Harvey | Fernandez | Lee | Wainwright |
| Kevin P. Cooney | Bucks County Courier Times | PHI | Kershaw | Wainwright | Grienke | Kimbrel | Liriano |
| Travis Sawchik | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | PIT | Kershaw | Wainwright | Harvey | Lee | Fernandez |
| John Perrotto | USA TODAY | PIT | Kershaw | Wainwright | Lee | Kimbrel | Fernandez |
| Chris Jenkins | U-T San Diego | SD | Kershaw | Fernandez | Greinke | Harvey | Kimbrel |
| John Maffei | U-T San Diego | SD | Kershaw | Kimbrel | Zimmerman | Wainwright | Greinke |
| Ray Ratto | CSN Bay Area | SF | Kershaw | Fernandez | Harvey | Kimbrel | Bumgarner |
| Andrew Baggarly | CSN Bay Area | SF | Kershaw | Wainwright | Lee | Bumgarner | Fernandez |
| Berie Miklasz | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | STL | Kershaw | Wainwright | Lee | Harvey | Fernandez |
| Joe Strauss | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | STL | Kershaw | Kimbrel | Wainwright | Lee | Fernandez |
| Ken Rosenthal | FOX Sports.com | WAS | Kershaw | Fernandez | Wainwright | Kimbrel | Harvey |
| Amanda Comak | Washington Times | WAS | Kershaw | Fernandez | Lee | Kimbrel | Zimmermann |