It is only fitting that this season ended with Roy Halladay winning the Cy Young Award unanimously. Halladay finished with a whopping 250.2 IP, 2.44 ERA, and 21 wins. Halladay had an unbelievable season, having thrown a perfect game against the Marlins on May 29th and a no hitter against the Reds in the playoffs. He is a shoe in to one day be enshrined into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

Despite the fact the correct winner won, one pitcher was wronged in the voting. Josh Johnson, the National League leader in ERA, finished fifth in the voting. The pitchers voted ahead of him were Roy Halladay, Adam Wainwright, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Tim Hudson. Yes, I said Tim Hudson.

 

Ironically, if you look at the order of the Cy Young Voting, you will notice that the top 4 are in order of total wins. Halladay lead the NL with 21, Wainwright with 20, Ubaldo Jimenez with 19, and Tim Hudson with 17. It is well known at this point that wins are completely dependent on the team around you. Johnson knows that fact oh too well. He had 23 quality starts (at least 6 IP, 3 ER or less allowed) in his 28 starts. In 9 of his starts, he gave up 2 ER or less and either earned a no decision or a loss for his effort. One of the shining moments of Josh Johnson's career was on May 29th, when he went toe to toe with Roy Halladay. For 7 innings, Halladay and Johnson went back and forth, neither allowing an earned run. However, an error by Cameron Maybin, in which he misjudged a ball in the outfield, led to an unearned run. The game ended 1-0, and Johnson had a loss on his record for one of the best pitching performances of the season by any pitcher.

 

The numbers for Josh Johnson don't lie. He had the lowest ERA in the majors, an eye popping 186 strikeouts compared to 48 walks in 183.2 IP. If you had the chance to watch him pitch on a daily basis, you would marvel in the consistency he possessed throughout the entire season. Josh Johnson showed the kind of composure on the mound this season that I have never from a Marlins pitcher ever. That includes the likes of A.J Burnett, Josh Beckett, Al Leiter, and Kevin Brown. Johnson has always had a great deal of natural talent, but this season he finally showed what he was capable of. According to WAR, or Wins Above Replacement, Josh Johnson was the third best pitcher in the National League at 6.4. The only two players ahead of him on the list were Ubaldo Jimenez at 7.1 and Roy Halladay at 6.9. At one point in the season, he ranked above all pitchers in terms of WAR.

 

I respect the people who vote for the Cy Young Award. I agree with their decision to vote Halladay the Cy Young Winner, and feel that Johnson definitely didn't belong ahead of either Wainwright or Halladay. However, to put him behind Tim Hudson and Ubaldo Jimenez is just wrong. Jimenez had an ERA 0.58 higher than JJ. Johnson had a better overall season when you compare the two when you take into consideration that Johnson's numbers aren't as high due to an injury cutting his season short. This voting process has shown me that although some voters are moving farther and farther away from basic statistics, one will still rise above all others. Wins, no matter how wrong it is, will always be a major factor in deciding who wins the Cy Young Award. A pitcher with a 2.90 ERA and 20 wins will always be picked in the voting before a pitcher with a 2.30 and 11 wins. There are still flaws in the voting system that need to be ironed out. This kind of mentality is probably why a more deserving player in Felix Hernandez with 13 wins will probably finish behind CC Sabathia in the Cy Young Voting come Thursday.

 

Josh Johnson wasn't the 1st or 2nd best pitcher in the league this year, but putting him 5th is just a complete and utter insult to his accomplishments this season.

 

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Ubaldo finished in front of JJ

Those guys pitched between 40 and 50 innings more than JJ. He should absolutely be punished in awards voting because he got injured.

To me, I think the ERA title is a good enough consolation prize. He wasn't close enough for the Cy, at least he got the ERA title that we can brag about. Wins and Losses are so subjective, if you cant win the Cy, the ERA title is a much better thing to brag about next to it. Congrats JJ

Those guys pitched between 40 and 50 innings more than JJ. He should absolutely be punished in awards voting because he got injured.

 

 

I agree with you on this one. If he pitched the whole year he might have won it.

Halladay deserved the Cy Young, not doubt about that. Tbh I'm not too bothered where JJ finishes after that, 2nd or 5th, he didn't win it anyway. Next year maybe....

JJ was fourth on his below 500 TEAM in wins.

JJ was fourth on his below 500 TEAM in wins.

 

 

Because wins is a great measurement on its own.....

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

Those guys pitched between 40 and 50 innings more than JJ. He should absolutely be punished in awards voting because he got injured.

 

 

He was shut down, not injured. He shouldn't be punished for a team decision.

 

However they should be rewarded.

 

Still though, 5 is cutting him short. He was the ERA champ. Should've finished 3 or 4.

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

 

 

So you believe 100% that Chris Volstad (12 wins) was a better pitcher than Josh Johnson (11 wins)???

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

 

 

And the Cy Young is an individual's award.

 

Congratulations on proving wins as a useless statistic for pitchers.

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

 

 

Good point, lets look at the facts.

 

WORLD SERIES WINS:

Florida Marlins:2

Tampa Bay Rays: 0

 

 

Now, quit being a troll. It's not cute anymore.

Those guys pitched between 40 and 50 innings more than JJ. He should absolutely be punished in awards voting because he got injured.

 

 

He was shut down, not injured. He shouldn't be punished for a team decision.

 

However they should be rewarded.

 

Still though, 5 is cutting him short. He was the ERA champ. Should've finished 3 or 4.

 

He was shut down because he injured his back and shoulder and the team rightly didn't want to risk him getting hurt.

 

You can't just assume he would have kept pitching at that level. You can't reward him for something he didn't do. The guys ahead of him all pitched around 20% more innings. That's huge.

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

 

 

So you believe 100% that Chris Volstad (12 wins) was a better pitcher than Josh Johnson (11 wins)???

 

No.

 

And neither do I believe that JJ was anything better than the fifth best starter in the NL last year.

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

 

 

Good point, lets look at the facts.

 

WORLD SERIES WINS:

Florida Marlins:2

Tampa Bay Rays: 0

 

 

Now, quit being a troll. It's not cute anymore.

 

Yes, the Marlins are a better franchise than the Rays.

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

 

 

So you believe 100% that Chris Volstad (12 wins) was a better pitcher than Josh Johnson (11 wins)???

 

No.

 

And neither do I believe that JJ was anything better than the fifth best starter in the NL last year.

 

And your only reasoning provided for that is that he finished 4th on his team in wins.

Wins are the ultimate measure in a team sport.

 

 

So you believe 100% that Chris Volstad (12 wins) was a better pitcher than Josh Johnson (11 wins)???

 

No.

 

And neither do I believe that JJ was anything better than the fifth best starter in the NL last year.

 

And your only reasoning provided for that is that he finished 4th on his team in wins.

JJ also struggled (for him) down the stretch before being shut down - 4.46 ERA in August.