New York Mets’ R.A. Dickey claims CY Young honour from National League - MLB Update
Baseball Writers' Association of America has named New York Mets’ R.A. Dickey Cy Young Award winner from the National League.
Dickey was by far ahead of other contestants in terms of gaining first-place votes. He beat Gio Gonzalez from Washington Nationals and Clayton Kershaw, who played for Los Angeles Dodgers in the competition.
Ever since the season came to an end, there is a lot of hype being created about Dickey as to whether he can become the first knuckleballer in Major League history to earn the Cy Young Award.
The announcement on Wednesday put a halt to the endless flow of speculations by declaring Dickey as the best pitcher of the National League.
Dickey was an amazing discovery for baseball fans during 2012 regular season. It is rare to see a knuckleballer dominating the best batters in the game.
It is even more unusual to find a pitcher who has been hanging out in the Major League for the last many years as a mediocre Minor League type hurler and becoming invincible all of a sudden.
The way Dickey hoodwinked batters and produced a great number of wins in the last season is unprecedented from his part. He has never showed such a level of dominance before.
Unfortunately despite his individual brilliance, his team could not achieve anything substantial. The Mets finished at the bottom half of the Division table, because most of their players did not perform up to their potential.
Dickey is ecstatic after winning the prestigious award. What is even more satisfying for him is the fact that writers who voted have acknowledged that the knuckleball is a legal pitch.
"We live in a culture now that's got a very progressive mentality, which is fantastic as far as the association of the knuckleball goes," Dickey said. "And that's a compliment to the vision and the imagination of the writers who voted. They didn't see the
knuckleball as a trick pitch. They didn't see it as some kind of illegitimate weapon that you can use that isn't worthy. They saw it as a legitimate weapon. It has one purpose, and that's to get big-league hitters out consistently.”
After winning this award, Dickey will be hoping that he is offered contract extension from the Mets in the next couple of days.
It will be interesting to see the decision that the New York Mets make about him.
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