Gerrit Cole is not going to be pitching in the 2023 MLB playoffs, with the New York Yankees not having done enough to qualify for the postseason. But in terms of individual success, Cole seemingly has the body of work to bag a prestigious honor, one that he's yet to win in his stellar career, thus far: the Cy Young Award.

As if his case isn't strong enough already, Gerrit Cole added to his sparkling 2023 resume with a sterling performance in his final start of the season. On Wednesday, Cole tossed a complete-game gem, allowing zero earned runs and only two hits with five strikeouts in a 6-0 victory on the road over the Toronto Blue Jays. With that performance, Cole also became just the first Yankees hurler since the turn of the millennium to achieve a single-season feat that was actually last accomplished by David Wells back in 1998 (h/t Sarah Langs of MLB.com)

1st Yankee with multiple shutouts allowing 2 hits or fewer in a season since David Wells in 1998

With that performance, Cole concludes his 2023 campaign with a 14-4 record along with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP across 32 starts.

Gerrit Cole is undoubtedly one of the greatest pitchers of his generation but it's hard to tell that based on his Cy Young Awards count. However, he has cracked the top five of Cy Young Award voting a total of five times. He finished runner-up in the Cy Young Award voting twice before (2019 and 2021). Among the chief contenders of Cole for the 2023 American League Cy Young Award are Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariners and Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros.