The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
INDIANS’ BIEBER, REDS’ BAUER WIN CY YOUNGS
Cleveland Indians ace Shane Bieber was the unanimous winner of the AL Cy Young Award on Wednesday night, and Trevor Bauer became the first player to take home the NL honor for the Cincinnati Reds.
Using a versatile repertoire that includes a looping curveball and a wipeout slider, Bieber went 8- 1 with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 77⅓ innings during the pandemic-shortened season, leading the majors in ERA and strikeouts and tying Yu Darvish for the most wins.
Bieber becamethe second player in franchise history to win the AL pitching Triple Crown, joining Hall of Famer Bob Feller in 1940. He also was the first pitcher to lead the majors in all three categories since Johan Santana for Minnesota in 2006.
Bauer went 5- 4 with an NL- best 1.73 ERA in 11 starts, helping the Reds reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The 29- year- old right- hander struck out 100 in 73 innings and led the majors with two shutouts, a pair of seven- inning performances on doubleheader days.
The brashBauer is the first Cy Young winner for Cincinnati, the majors’ oldest franchise. He became a free agent after the season and turned downtheReds’ qualifying offer, but left the door open for a return.
ChicagoCubsright- hander Yu Darvish finished second in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was third, ending his bid for a third consecutive NL Cy Young Award.
Bieberwas the first unanimous AL winner since Justin Verlander for Detroit in 2011. It was the 10th time an AL pitcher was a unanimous choice for the award.
Minnesota Twins right han der Kent a Ma eda was second
in AL voting, followed by Toronto Blue Jays lefthander Hyun Jin Ryu.
TheBBWAAwill announce the MVPs tonight.
The 25- year- old Bieber was selected by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2016 amateur draft. Hemade his
major league debut in 2018 and went 11- 5 with a 4.55 ERA. But he showed off his potential last year, winning theMVPawardat the All- Star Game and finishing with 15 wins and a 3.28 ERA.
“I was kind of a late bloomer in high school, so I feel like I had to learn how topitchandletmy stuffcome to me,” Bieber said lastweek when he wasannounced as a Cy Young finalist. “Continue to work hard, continue to develop in the latter half of high school and going into college, was to able some velocity and kind of refine my game.
“But in terms of development, I wouldn’t trade my process for anything. I felt likemy early years learning how to pitch, learning how to change speeds and locate the ball has paid dividends in the long run.”
Bieber gave Cleveland its fifth Cy Young Award since CC Sabathia won in 2007. Cliff Lee won in 2008, and CoreyKluber took home the honor in 2014 and 2017. Gaylord Perry in 1972 is the only other Cy Young winner for the Tribe.
It’s the first Cy Young for Bauer, who tied for sixth in theALvoting in 2018 after he went 12- 6 with a 2.21 ERAfor the Indians. Hewas traded to
Cincinnati as part of a threeteamdeal at last year’s deadline that moved Yasiel Puig to Cleveland.
Bauer struggled after he was acquired by the Reds, going 2- 5 with a 6.39 ERA in 10 starts. But he returned to formwhenthis season finally started in July.
He allowed just two runs and eight hits in 26⅓ innings over his first four starts. He also closed out the season with a flourish, recording a 1.29 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 35 innings over five September starts.
Bauer pitched Game 1 of the playoffs at Atlanta and struck out 12 in 7⅔ innings. But the Reds lost 1- 0 in 13 innings and failed to score during the Braves’ sweep.
Bauer, who has his own YouTube account and nearly 400,000 followers on Twitter, was selected by Arizona with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 draft. He is 75- 64 with a 3.90ERAin205 career games, including 195 starts.