Happy New Year to everyone. 2020 is officially gone. Say goodbye to 2020. It’s the brand new 2021. January 1 is the first day of the year. In baseball history, two pitchers, who were born on this day, were the first in the Cy Young Voting.
LaMarr Hoyt was selected by the New York Yankees in the 1973 MLB draft. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1977. In that trade, the New York Yankees acquired Bucky Dent, who later became the 1978 World Series MVP. Besides Hoyt, the White Sox also acquired Bob Polinsky and Oscar Gamble and received cash from the Yankees. LaMarr Hoyt made it to the big league in September 1979, but he only tossed 3 innings that season. By the way, Tony La Russa was the White Sox manager from 1979 to 1986. In 1980 and 1981, Hoyt each earned 9 wins. In 1982, Hoyt made 32 starts and threw more than 200 innings. He earned 19 wins, leading the AL. In the meantime, he posted a 3.53 ERA and a WHIP of 1.24. 1983 was an unforgettable season for LaMarr Hoyt because he won the AL Cy Young award. In this season, he tossed 260.2 innings and had an ERA of 3.66. He earned 24 wins and posted a 1.02 WHIP, both leading the majors. He was traded to the Padres in late 1984 and became an All-Star in 1985. The last game of his career was on October 3, 1986. In his career, he threw 1311.1 innings, earned 98 wins and posted an ERA of 3.99 and a 1.21 WHIP.
Dallas Keuchel is the other Cy Young winner who was born on January 1. The Houston Astros selected him in the 7th round of the 2009 MLB draft. Keuchel made his MLB debut in 2012. In his first two seasons, he each had an over 5 ERA. 2014 was a breakout season for Keuchel, he threw 200 innings for the Astros and finished with 12 wins and a 2.93 ERA. In 2015, Keuchel was surely the most dominant pitcher in the league, he made 33 starts and tossed 232 innings. He earned 20 wins and his ERA was only 2.48. Meanwhile, he threw 2 shutouts, one was against the Chicago White Sox, and the other one was against the Yankees. Solid performance made him the 2015 Cy Young winner. He played for the Braves in the 2019 season. In December 2019, Keuchel and the White Sox agreed to a 3-year deal, including a vesting fourth-year option. Keuchel posted an incredible 1.99 ERA in the shortened season. So far in his career, Keuchel has 90 wins and his ERA is 3.59. He’s a two-time All-Star and he won the Gold Glove award 4 times.
It’s 2021. A new day, a new year and a new baseball season will be coming soon. Lots of people will have their plans or goals of the year. One milestone for Keuchel is to earn his 100th win in the MLB. Meanwhile, Keuchel, Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn will be the core 3 in the White Sox rotation. Are we going to see another White Sox pitcher to win the Cy Young award?
No comments:
Post a Comment