The 2023 AL Cy Young Award is headed to the Bronx.
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was named the unanimous winner of the award on Wednesday. It marks the first Cy Young for Cole and the first time a Yankees player has won the award since Roger Clemens in 2001.
Cole, who received all 30 first-place votes, beat out fellow finalists Sonny Gray of the Minnesota Twins and Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s voting.
Gray finished second to Cole's 210 points with 104, while Gausman came in third with 82 points. Cole's triumph marks the 11th time that there's been a unanimous AL Cy Young winner.
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The 33-year-old Cole placed second in AL Cy Young voting twice: once with the Houston Astros in 2019 and once with the Yankees in 2021.
Cole led the American League in ERA (2.63), innings pitched (209.0), opponents’ batting average (.206) and WAR (7.5) while tying for first in starts (33) and shutouts (two). He finished tied for second in wins (15) and third in strikeouts (222).
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Cole was a bright spot for the Yankees throughout the 2023 season. He didn’t pick up his first loss of the year until June 9 and wound up getting the starting nod for the AL in the All-Star Game. His dominant pitching continued into the second half, where he capped off his season with a two-hit shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 27.
Cole is the sixth Yankees pitcher to earn the AL Cy Young Award, joining Clemens, Ron Guidry (1978), Sparky Lyle (1977), Whitey Ford (1961) and Bob Turley (1958).
Over in the NL, San Diego Padres southpaw Blake Snell earned 2023 Cy Young honors.
