For the third year in a row, the Cy Young race was somewhat of a foregone conclusion. Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski was named the unanimous National League Cy Young Award winner today, joining Randy Johnson (2001) and Justin Verlander (2022) as the only pitchers since 2000 to win the Cy Young and the World Series in the same year.
Misiorowski is the fourth Brewer to win the award in franchise history, following Rollie Fingers (1981), Pete Vuckovich (1982), and Corbin Burnes (2021).
He flashed
as a rookie last year, starting off hot and (controversially) making the All-Star team after just five career starts, but he struggled with his command down the stretch and finished the year with a 4.36 ERA. This year, in his first full season as a big-leaguer, Misiorowski worked out the kinks and became completely and utterly dominant, leading the majors in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), and WHIP (0.80) while going 16-5.
Highlights from his record-breaking season include:
- Making history with the first-ever 15-strikeout “Maddux” (a complete-game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches) in an early-June game against the Phillies. Misiorowski was a Kyle Schwarber single away from a perfect game, and his 15 strikeouts tied Corbin Burnes for the second-most in a game in Brewers history, behind only Ben Sheets (18).
- Setting the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown by a starting pitcher, a 105.5-mph fastball.
- Throwing 1,115 pitches at 100 mph or harder, the most in a season since tracking began in 2008, shattering Jordan Hicks’ previous record of 673 in 2018.
- Making the National League All-Star team for the second time in as many years.
- Holding opponents to a .157 batting average, the lowest on record for a full season.
- Becoming the first Brewer in history to lead the league in both ERA and strikeouts in the same season.
- Starting the game that clinched the first World Series title in franchise history.
In the American League, fellow second-year starter Cam Schlittler took home the award. Schlittler also put together an amazing season, leading American League starters in WAR (7.0), ERA (1.95), and ERA+ (215).
