Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Robbie Ray won the 2021 American League Cy Young Award. Ray beat out Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole and Lance Lynn from the White Sox, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Robbie Ray received 29 of the 30 first place votes, which is astounding. He received 207 points in the voting system. Cole garnered only 123.
.@RobbieRay is the first @BlueJays pitcher to win a Cy Young in 18 years (Roy Halladay). pic.twitter.com/ZzaPBN6U1X
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 17, 2021
Ray became only the 4th Blue Jays pitcher to ever win the AL Cy Young Award, joining Roy Halladay in 2003, Roger Clemens who won it in back to back years in 1997 and 1998, and Pat Hentgen the year prior in 1996.
Robbie Ray has had quite the tumultuous career, with many ups and downs.
Ray began his career being drafted by the Nationals in 2010 and made his major league debut in 2014 as a member of the Detroit Tigers. Detroit then moved him to Arizona in a 3-team trade with the Yankees. It was in Arizona that Ray had his first stand out year in 2017, going 15-5 for the D'Backs.
The 30-year-old Ray was traded to the Blue Jays in 2020, where he struggled. Ray pitched in five games, posting a 4.79 ERA, 1.74 WHIP in 20.2 innings pitched. He then turned it all around this season.
Ray finished this season 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning). Ray hurled his way to 248 strikeouts in only 193 innings pitched. Robbie Ray actually holds the Major League record for highest strikeout per nine ratio in history among qualified starters at 11.2.
New York Yankees starter Gerrit Cole was the only other pitcher to receive a single first place vote.
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