1894 Cy Young Award

1894 National League - Amos Rusie, New York Giants

36-13, 2.78 ERA, 195 K

When I awarded the 1893 retroactive Cy Young Award to Amos Rusie, it was a close call between two other candidates.  However, his 1894 season left little doubt that he deserved it.  He easily won the Triple Crown, led the league in shutouts, ERA+, WAR, and WHIP, but those figures alone don't show how much he led in some categories.  His strikeout totals were down from 1893, so he only had 28% more strikeouts than his nearest opponent, but he led the league in ERA by nearly a full run over the second place pitcher, 2.78 to 3.70, and had an ERA nearly half the league average of 5.32, for a 190 ERA+.  Had the Cy Young Award existed in 1894, he definitely would have been the unanimous choice.