News
Vazquez lands among elite in Cy voting
Righty rewarded for stellar season with fourth-place finish
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
11/19/09 3:20 PM EST
ATLANTA -- Braves right-hander Javier Vazquez gained one of the two votes not cast for Tim Lincecum, Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright in the balloting for this year's National League Cy Young Award, finishing fourth.When the results were announced Thursday afternoon, Lincecum learned that he had narrowly notched his second successive NL Cy Young Award. The 25-year-old Giants right-hander finished just ahead of the Cardinals duo of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.
Vazquez, who went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA in 34 starts for the Braves, finished fourth despite the fact that his only mention on any of the 32 ballots was one second-place vote. D-backs right-hander Dan Haren finished fifth, drawing one third-place vote.
Wainwright, the former Braves top prospect who was traded to the Cardinals in December 2003, received the most first-place votes (12) but still finished third. He and Lincecum were the only pitchers listed on each of the 32 ballots.
Lincecum becomes the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award while not receiving the most first-place votes since Atlanta's Tom Glavine in 1998. Glavine won that year despite the fact that San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman received two more first-place votes (13-11).
When the Braves acquired Vazquez in early December last year, the general consensus was that general manager Frank Wren had at least started his rotation reconstruction process in a positive manner. But the 33-year-old right-hander certainly proved to be more than just a valuable piece to the equation.
NL Cy Young Award Voting
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Lincecum, SF | 11 | 12 | 9 | 100 |
| Chris Carpenter, STL | 9 | 14 | 7 | 94 |
| Adam Wainwright, STL | 12 | 5 | 15 | 90 |
| Javier Vazquez, ATL | 1 | 3 | ||
| Dan Haren, ARI | 1 | 1 |
Among all NL pitchers, Vazquez ranked second in strikeouts (238), strikeouts-per-walk ratio (5.87) and complete games (three); third in WHIP (1.03); fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.77); fifth in batting average allowed (.226); and sixth in ERA (2.87).
Despite going 14-10 and posting the NL's third-best ERA with a 2.60 mark, Braves right-hander Jair Jurrjens didn't receive any Cy Young votes.
Jurrjens, who went 5-2 with a 1.76 ERA in his final 10 starts, allowed two earned runs or fewer in 26 of his 34 starts. His 25 quality starts matched Wainwright for the second most in the NL. Lincecum led the Senior Circuit with 26 quality starts.
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
