NewsGreinke has KC thinking Cy Young
Club hasn't won pitching award since shortened '94 season
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
11/16/09 8:08 AM EST
KANSAS CITY -- It's awards season, and there's no doubt about the Royals' top nominee: pitcher Zack Greinke.Greinke's brilliant season puts him squarely in the running for the American League Cy Young Award. The results of that vote by 28 members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America will be announced on Tuesday at 1 p.m. CT.
Although the Royals were promoting Greinke and left fielder David DeJesus as Gold Glove candidates for their outstanding fielding, neither were on the list when the winners of those awards were revealed last week.
But it's the Cy Young Award, of course, that stirs the most notice, and the Royals have not had a winner since David Cone in the strike-shortened 1994 season. The club's only other winner was Bret Saberhagen in 1985 and 1989.
"When they say 'Cy Young,' " pitching coach Bob McClure said, "to me, Cy Young means who was the best pitcher -- not thrower. And when I look at the other guys, I think Zack was more of a pitcher -- even though he's a power guy -- more than anybody."
Greinke led the Majors with a 2.16 ERA and rang up 242 strikeouts, second most in the league. If there's a drawback, it's his 16-8 record. Six AL pitchers won more games than he did. The Mariners' Felix Hernandez, at 19-5 and a 2.49 ERA, figures to be his primary competition.
"Not to take anything away from Felix -- I played with him for a number of years and his stuff's electric as well," the Royals' Willie Bloomquist said. "And Roy Halladay and CC [Sabathia] are guys I'd like to have on my team any day of the week as well -- but from what I saw from Zack this year, his stuff is second to nobody."
Halladay, 17-9 for the Blue Jays, had the AL's third-best ERA at 2.79. The Yankees' Sabathia, 19-8 and 3.37, and the Tigers' Justin Verlander, 19-8 and 3.45, tied Hernandez for the most victories.
There's no doubt that Greinke's victory total could have grown with more run support and more help from a porous bullpen.
"He could've had 20 wins. He just pitched on the wrong day," McClure said.
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
