Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins and Justin Verlander of the Astros were unanimous picks for the Cy Young trophies on Wednesday.
The honor has been awarded since 1956 and it happened only once, in 1968, that the two choices were unanimous.
Denny McLain of the Tigers and Bob Gibson of the Cardinals received the honor that year.
Alcantara plays in the National and Verlander in the American.
Verlander led the majors with an average of 1.75 – his best in 17 years in the big leagues.
He missed almost all of the previous two seasons, following Tommy John surgery.
“After four starts, I felt like myself again,” said the 39-year-old veteran, who is a free agent. I felt back to normal. It helped me a lot mentally.”
The 27-year-old right-hander Alcantara led major league baseball with 228 innings and two-thirds and six complete games.
Alcantara went 14-9 with a 2.28 GAA.
He got all 30 first-place votes for the 15th time in Cy Young Trophy history.
“I am extremely happy to receive this honor,” he said. I feel very privileged.”
Max Fried of the Braves finished second with 72 points, including 10 second-tier votes.
Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias finished third with 66 points.
Dominican Alcantara is the first Marlins player to earn the Cy Young.
Pedro Martinez, in 1997 with the Expos, is the other Dominican to have won the Cy Young in the National.
Alcantara’s six complete matches were the highest Major tally in this category since Chris Sale’s six in 2016.
“I want to get better every day,” said Alcantara. I will keep the same mentality.
Urías went 17-7. He led the National with a 2.16 GAA, helping the Dodgers to a major league-high 111 wins.
Urias struck out 166 batters after a 2021 season where he led major league baseball with 20 wins.
Fried (14-7, 2.48 GAA) was a star player for the first time in his career.
He helped Atlanta win a fifth straight division title.
In the American League, the other finalists were Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays and Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox.
Verlander also earned the Cy Young in 2019; in 2011, he received the Cy Young and the American Most Valuable Player award.
