November 17, 2021

Official Baseball Writers’ Association of America News Release

Robbie Ray was elected as the American League Cy Young Award winner, the fifth time a Toronto Blue Jays pitcher has won.

Other Blue Jays winners were Pat Hentgen in 1996, Roger Clemens in 1997 and ‘98 and Roy Halladay in 2003. Ray and runner-up Gerrit Cole were the only pitchers listed on every ballot.

Ray’s victory total of 13 is tied for the fewest for a starting pitcher over a full season to win the American League award, matching that of the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez in 2010. The fewest victories overall by a Cy Young-winning starting pitcher in a full season is 10 by the 2018 National League winner, Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets.

This is the second runner-up finish for Cole, who with the Houston Astros in 2019 ran second to then teammate Justin Verlander.

Ballots, submitted prior to postseason play, were cast by two writers representing each league city. They are tabulated on a system that awards seven points for first place, four points for second place, three points for third place, two votes for fourth place and one point for fifth place.

For a breakdown of the 30 individual ballots, submitted by two writers representing each city in the American League, click here.