One of baseball's biggest power struggles continued this year -- starting pitchers vs. sabermetrics -- with the game taking another shift toward the extinction of the ace starter.
In place of complete games and innings were "openers" -- relief pitchers who lead bullpen parades on any given night -- and the scary thoughts of managers allowing their starters to face an opponent's lineup three times.
The sign of the times crept into this year's American League Cy Young Award vote, which Rays' left-hander Blake Snell won, and former Detroit Tiger Justin Verlander -- now pitching for the Astros -- finished second, again.
Snell, who posted a miniscule 1.89 ERA while pitching in the tough AL East division, won the award with the fewest innings pitched (1802/3) in a non-strike shortened season. Not to be overlooked, Snell also won 21 games on a Tampa Bay team that frequently used relievers to start games.
I held an AL Cy Young Award vote this season, and the innings -- or lack thereof -- represented the difference between Snell and Verlander.
My official ballot went Verlander, Snell, Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole, Indians' righty Corey Kluber and Mariners closer Edwin Diaz.
It was a tough vote, but Verlander's overall body of work stood out. He threw 34 more innings than Snell, and while he also allowed 22 more earned runs, I could not be certain that if Snell had equaled those innings, he wouldn't have hit a rough spot as well.
I like innings. I like pitchers that go deep into games, complete games, and consistently throw more than 200 innings, which provides a tangible benefit to teams as a whole by saving the bullpen.
Verlander also led the AL in strikeouts with 290 (Snell struck out 221) and WHIP at 0.90 (Snell was 0.97).
For Verlander, it was his third second-place finish, denying him a second AL Cy Young Award. He won the award -- and the AL Most Valuable Player Award -- in 2011. It was his seventh top 5 finish.
This second-place finish was not nearly as egregious as his last, in 2016, when he lost to Red Sox starter -- and former Tiger -- Rick Porcello by just five points. In fact, Verlander has fallen short in each of the two closest AL Cy Young Award votes in history: In 2012, he lost to David Price by four points.
Snell was certainly a deserving winner, especially given his importance to the Rays' rotation, which largely leaned on relief pitchers. Going up against teams like the World Series champion Red Sox and Yankees as much as Snell does, in friendly hitting environments, is a tall task.
But at the end of the day, I felt Verlander's workhorse-like season -- based mostly on innings pitched -- won out.
The rest of my ballot was more difficult to place. Pitching in Verlander's shadow in Houston, Cole finally had a breakout season. I placed Cole ahead of Kluber for two reasons. First, he recorded 276 strikeouts to Kluber's 222. Second, Kluber was able to feast on the woeful AL Central division for much of the season, which included three of the five worst teams in baseball in the Royals, White Sox and Tigers.
Kluber started 15 of his 33 games against the AL Central.
Kluber's teammate, Trevor Bauer, and Boston's Chris Sale both had compelling cases to place on the ballot, but both missed extended time with injuries, which opened a spot for Diaz, the Seattle closer who saved 57 games.
Though I think a closer might be most appropriate for the MVP ballot -- closers are essentially everyday players -- Diaz's 1.96 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 731/3 innings could not be ignored. He was clearly one of the best -- and most important -- pitchers in the AL this season.
Overall, the Baseball Writers Association of America voters -- two from each AL chapter -- got the vote right this year. But the vote also reflected the way pitching in today's game has changed.
Sports on 11/16/2018