Let me start by saying that the Cy Young award isn’t always rewarded to whomever the best pitcher actually is.
Ask Bartolo Colon.
After asking Colon, approach Johan Santana, then repeat the question.
So anyone that values statistics and places much emphasis on the right numbers found within, will disagree with the voting process a lot of the time.
Speaking of asking questions: Go ask the following about how they feel about the “voting” process: Joe Posnanski, Keith Law, Rob Neyer, Bert Blyleven, Tim Raines, Rich Lederer, etc.
I think that you get my point.
So the question posed: How many Cy Youngs should Pedro Martinez have?
It is definite that Pedro should have won in 1999 and 2000. Arguably, two of the best single-seasons of all time. And Pedro should probably have won the MVP award in 1999, too.
But voters and fans both, value pitchers and position players differently. It is difficult for me to see how “Pudge” was more valuable (and Pudge had loads of value that season) than what might have been the greatest season ever by a pitcher.
But that isn’t it. Pedro probably deserved the MVP award in 2000 too. His “innings pitched” increased by four. His ERA+ was even better. Martinez struck out a few less, but walked a few less as well.
And somehow he finished 5th in the MVP voting with an ERA+ of 291. Are you kidding me?
I know ERA+ wasn’t used much then (Not sure when it was created, but I know that I had never heard of it at the time), but his 1.74 ERA was well over an earned run better than the next guy on the list. And Pedro did all this in a hitters park! A place where routine flyballs hit to left field turned into doubles.
I understand why some value a position player over a pitcher…some of the time anyway. But was Jason Giambi more valuable in the year 2000 than Pedro was?
I doubt it.
So far, Pedro deserves the two awards discussed, and may have been screwed out of a few MVP’s in the same years.
So let us go back to his first Cy Young, and first season in which Pedro Martinez was great enough to earn one; 1997 with the Montreal Expos.
An ERA+ of 219, 241 innings pitched.
I think you already sold me.
305 K’s, 67 walks.
Maddux was great that season, but Martinez was clearly the best in the league.
So there is no doubt that Pedro deserved all three awards that he did receive.
But what about those “Cy Young” awards that someone else received?
In 1998, Pedro again had a great season. ERA+ of 163, and finished second in the MVP voting.
The winner happened to be another of the greatest pitchers of all time in the form of Roger Clemens. Clemens topped Pedro in ERA+, slightly. Topped him in K’s, slightly. And basically deserved to win the award.
Pedro wasn’t shafted in 98.’ But Clemens received all of the first place votes. I am not sure that it was that clear-cut. But whatever.
The next two seasons were already mentioned.
And the season after that, 2001, Pedro missed some time due to injury. I actually attended a game in Tampa that year in which Pedro exited a little early because of the injury. Not exactly how you want to see Pedro live for the first and last time, but at least I saw him.
2002 though. Barry Zito wins the award. Back when Zito wasn’t arguably the worst signing in the history of baseball.
Who of the following line of numbers would you rather have:
Player A: ERA+ 202. 199 innings. 239 K’s. 40 BB’s.
Player B: ERA+ 158. 229 innings. 182 K’s. 78 BB’s.
Is there any question? I take player A in a heartbeat. The difference between whoever replaces the 30 innings of difference does not make up the difference in quality.
Player A, Pedro Martinez, deserved to win his 4th Cy Young. But of course did not.
2003…
Many Red Sox fans, and Yankees fans, remember Pedro walking off the mound having coughed up the game. Blame whoever, but regardless that is an image that will haunt us forever. Watching the greatest pitcher that we had ever seen, fail. It was incredibly disappointing.
But throughout the season Pedro was again incredible.
ERA+ 210. Only 186 innings. But 206 K’s, including a 4:1 K/BB ratio.
Pedro finished behind two pitchers this time; Roy Halladay and Esteban Loaiza.
Now there is no doubt that Pedro was better than either of these guys, in regards to his rate-stats. But Halladay threw 266 innings that season. 80 more than Pedro.
I have no problem with the voters valuing what Halladay did a little more. WARP 1 favors both Halladay and Loaiza slightly more in 2003, than Pedro. And “Doc” may very well have deserved to win the award, so there isn’t much to argue.
A lack of innings killed Pedro’s hopes that season. But the quality of his innings was still the best in the league.
In 2004 Pedro was beaten by pitchers that were clearly superior. AN ERA+ of 125 was still really good, but not as good as past seasons.
And the final season that Pedro should even have been in the discussion was in 2005, his first season with the New York Mets.
An ERA+ of 145 was still pretty great. 217 innings, 208 K’s, 47 walks. Definitely worth the money in 2005–at least for one season during the contract that he signed with the Mets.
But just like 2004, Pedro was beaten out by superior pitching. Pitchers that were better, at least for one year.
Although, I do find it hard to believe that Pedro couldn’t even get a vote that season, especially since he WAS “Pedro Martinez.”
So after much research, Pedro deserved to win four Cy Youngs, and perhaps even two MVP’s.
To elaborate a little on the MVP’s. Pedro had the highest WARP1 in both 1999 and 2000. So even statistics valued him higher than anyone else in the game (of course a stat that no one had heard of at the time, if it even existed).
When arguing who the greatest pitcher ever was, one should include that Pedro Martinez was the best pitcher in baseball four times, not three. And there was a fifth time, too, where it wasn’t all that far-fetched to say that Pedro was the greatest pitcher alive.
In my mind, Pedro should have four Cy Youngs and 2 MVP’s.
And that is why I believe that he might have been the best ever.