1881 Cy Young Award

1881 National League - George Derby, Detroit Wolverines

29-26, 2.20 ERA, 212 K

At first glance, Derby's stats from 1881 don't appear to be eye popping, but he pitched for a sub-.500 team and yet still managed to finish third in wins.  In addition, he led the league in strikeouts and finished third in ERA, although he pitched far more innings than the two pitchers ahead of him.  The 23 year old rookie also led the league with 9 shutouts, and pitched 494.2 innings, good for third place on the season.  Curiously, he followed it up with two below average seasons, including a dreadful 2-10, 5.85 season in 1883, and never pitched in the majors again.