MLB 2011: Top Contenders for the American League Cy Young Award
The Major League Baseball is all-set for an exciting finish to the 2011 regular season, more so in the American League than in the National League where the Philadelphia Phillies have dominated comprehensively.
In the American League, however, the fight for supremacy is still intense between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Both teams will surely make it to the postseason but one of them will have to take the Wild Card route which neither team would
prefer. The reason behind not settling for the Wild Card transit is the advantage of playing at home in the postseason which is enjoyed by the higher-ranked team.
While the Red Sox boast the best batting outfit in MLB, the Yankees have CC Sabathia as an answer to all questions. The left-handed starting pitcher has been phenomenal in his ten years at the Majors and this year has been no different either.
Standing at 6ft 7in and weighing 290 lbs, Sabathia has the second-best win-loss record in the AL which is still superior to all pitchers in the NL. He has a wide repertoire of deliveries to back his talent and he has not been hesitant to use his entire armoury.
Sabathia has won seven out of the ten starts he has had commencing June 30 till August 18 while the remaining three have ended in disappointment for the lanky pitcher. However, these losses have not dented his record and he still remains the best choice
to win the 2011 Cy Young Award from the AL.
The 2007 winner of this award has been striking-out batters at will this season and he is likely to complete 2000 career strike-outs this season. He has been the most valuable player for the Yankees this season with the likes of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez
not being 100 percent.
The Yankees and the Red Sox are expected to clash in the AL Championship Series this year and Sabathia, MVP of the 2009 ALCS, would be upbeat to replicate his 2009 performance this season.
The Detroit Tigers have been by far the best team in the AL Central division and have surfaced as strong candidates for the postseason this year. Their success has been backed by their ace pitcher Justin Verlander who is also the best pitcher, statistically
speaking, in MLB. Verlander has the most wins in the AL as well as in MLB. To Detroit’s advantage, his earned-run average has remained on the lower side and he is the first pitcher to cross the 200 strike-outs barrier this season, bringing up 1000 career strike-outs
in the process.
Verlander made his statement in 2006, his rookie year when he went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award. This year, he is in-line to bag his first Cy Young Award and officially stamp his authority on the mound. Verlander has won all of his starts ever
since July 21 and it will be interesting to see how far does he manage extend this streak.
Verlander has shown rapid improvement in his still-maturing career. 2011 is marked as his third-consecutive year with at least 200 strike-outs and he now deserves recognition from the baseball authorities and fans alike.
The Yankees and the Tigers are likely to make it through to the postseason this year and it will be interesting to see who will prevail long enough to take the American League Cy Young Award. My weighing scale is tilted towards Verlander.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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