1888 Cy Young Awards

1888 American Association - Silver King, St. Louis Browns

45-20, 1.63 ERA, 258 K

Not much of a debate about this one; not only did King lead the AA in most pitching categories, but he dominated those categories.  He was the ERA leader by .38 runs, wins by 10, ERA+ by 48, WHIP by .12, and WAR by 4.  He also tied for the lead with 6 shutouts, and came in second in strikeouts, along the way leading the Browns to yet another AA pennant.  At 20 years old, it was only King's second full season in the majors, but, like many of his contemporaries, he burned out quickly, with only a few more productive seasons, and he was done in the majors before he turned 30.

1888 National League - Tim Keefe, New York Giants

35-12, 1.74 ERA, 335 K

Just like in the AA, there wasn't much question as to who was the NL's best pitcher in 1888.  After several years of consistently being a contender for the league's best pitcher, the future Hall of Famer was quite decisively the best in 1888.  Along with winning the Triple Crown, Keefe led the league in winning percentage, WHIP, WAR, and shutouts.  There were other pitchers, particularly Charlie Buffinton, who did well, but Keefe was by far the best, and in the process led the Giants to the NL pennant.