1907 Cy Young Awards

1907 American League - Ed Walsh, Chicago White Sox

24-18, 1.60 ERA, 206 K

Often, the ERA leader of the league is a pitcher who pitched a fairly low number of innings,meaning they did well but in a smaller sample size.  However, not only did Walsh lead the league in ERA, but he also led in innings pitched (422.1), games pitched (56), starts (46), complete games (37), and even saves (4), meaning that not only was he very effective, he was effective in more innings than anyone else.  His win-loss record leaves something to be desired, but it needs to be taken into account that he pitched for the team with the second worst offense in the league (.238 team batting average and a dismal OPS+ of 89), so when everything else is taken into consideration, he was clearly the best pitcher in the league.  Honorable mention does go to Cleveland's Addie Joss though, for posting a 27-11 win-loss record and a third place 1.83 ERA.

1907 National League -Carl Lundgren, Chicago Cubs

18-7, 1.17 ERA, 84 K

A year after losing to the "Hitless Wonders" in the World Series, the Cubs returned in 1907, bringing with them by far the best pitching staff in the league.  The top three ERA leaders, along with 5 of the top 6, all pitched for the Cubs, and the team led the NL with an unbelievable 1.73 ERA, which translated to a 144 ERA+.  As a result, there was little doubt that a Cubs pitcher would win the retroactive Cy Young Award; the only question was who.  I ended up choosing Carl Lundgren, who finished second in ERA by 0.02 runs, but had a much better record than the ERA leader (Jack Pfiester, 14-9) and more innings pitched (207 to 195).  Although Lundgren himself didn't have very high win totals, his ERA was so far above anyone else who pitched more innings that it was hard not to give it to him.Lundgren did have a tendency to give up walks (on average 4 every 9 innings) but he also led the league in fewest hits per 9 innings (5.652 - about one hit lower than anyone else).