1904 Cy Young Awards

1904 American League - Jack Chesbro, New York Highlanders

41-12, 1.82 ERA, 239 K

There are some people who argue that the only reason Chesbro was elected to the Hall of Fame was because of his 1904 season.  That's how good he was.  Although it was fairly common in the first few decades of Major League Baseball, by the turn of the century winning 40 games was unheard of.  Nobody had won 40 or more games since 1891, back when the pitcher stood 5 feet closer to the plate.  Chesbro's record still stands as the most games won in modern MLB history; only one more pitcher would ever win 40 games, and since then nobody has been close.  In any case, along with his win totals, which were 15 more than anyone else, Chesbro finished first in innings pitched (454.2), starts (51), complete games (48), hist per 9 inning (6.691), and WAR (8.8).  He also finished second in strikeouts, second in WHIP (0.937), and fourth in ERA.  Other pitchers, like Rube Waddell and Cy Young, had pretty impressive seasons in 1904, but overall they couldn't quite compare to what Chesbro did.

1904 National League - Joe McGinnity, New York Giants

35-8, 1.61 ERA, 144 K

The 1900 winner was once again the best pitcher in the league in 1904, leading in both ERA and wins for the pennant-winning New York Giants.  In addition, he led in shutouts (9), innings pitched (408), WHIP (.963), and WAR (10.2; 3.3 wins higher than anyone else).  Having an ERA under two was not at all uncommon like it is today, but his ERA was still substantially above league average, with an adjusted ERA+ of 170.  By way of comparison, Justin Verlander's Cy Young Award winning season last year had the same ERA+, despite having an ERA of 2.40.  Interestingly, McGinnity also led the league with 5 saves, which at the time tied a single-season MLB record, although the statistic was not created and recognized by MLB until over 50 years, long after McGinnity's record was broken.