Skip to content

Porcello wins AL Cy Young, Verlander gets most 1st-place votes

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

You could say Justin Verlander won the popular vote, but Rick Porcello won the Electoral College.

For the third time in MLB history, and the first time in American League history, the Cy Young Award was given to the pitcher who didn't claim the most first-place votes.

Boston Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello edged out Cleveland Indians right-hander Corey Kluber and Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander to take home his first Cy Young on Wednesday.

Porcello finished with 137 points to Verlander's 132, but despite winning, 18 of his 30 votes were second-place votes.

Verlander, on the other hand, received 14 first-place votes, more than Porcello and Kluber combined.

Pitcher 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Points
Rick Porcello 8 18 2 1 1 137
Justin Verlander 14 2 5 4 3 132
Corey Kluber 3 6 12 8 1 98
Zach Britton 5 3 2 5 9 72
Chris Sale 1 4 9 6 40

Not only did Verlander finish in second, he was left off two ballots altogether.

In his eighth year in the majors, Porcello went 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 223 innings of work. He becomes the first Red Sox pitcher to win the award since Pedro Martinez won it in 1999 and 2000.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox