1887 Cy Young Awards

1887 American Association - Matt Kilroy, Baltimore Orioles

46-19, 3.07 ERA, 217 K

Despite striking out an all-time single season record 513 batters in 1886, his relatively high ERA and 29-34 record kept him from being awarded the retroactive Cy Young Award.  However, in his second major league season in 1887, he improved dramatically.  Although his strikeouts dropped by more than half despite pitching more innings, he led the league in wins, winning 9 more than the nearest competition, finished second in ERA and strikeouts, and led the league in starts (69), complete games (66), innings pitched (589.1), shutouts (6), and WAR (12.7).  However, like many pitchers of his day, Kilroy burned out quickly; he played only five full seasons in the majors, followed by five seasons in which he pitched a total of 37 games.

1887 National League - John Clarkson, Chicago White Stockings

38-21, 3.08 ERA, 237 K

Two years after a spectacular 1885 season, John Clarkson was again the best pitcher in the NL, leading the league in wins and strikeouts, finishing fourth in ERA, and second in ERA+ and WHIP.  Philadelphia's Dan Casey and New York's future Hall of Famer Tim Keefe also put up impressive numbers in 1887, but overall, I felt that Clarkson was the most deserving.  In most cases, if there are several pitchers for whom an argument can be made, I am more likely to give it to the pitcher who pitched the most innings; I feel that a pitcher like Clarkson, who pitched very well in a league-leading 523 innings, was more valuable to his team than a pitcher like Casey, who it could be argued pitched somewhat better, but in almost 150 fewer innings.  The WAR statistic also agrees with this - Clarkson led the league at 12.4, more than 3 wins higher than Casey, the runner-up.