1908 Cy Young Awards

1908 American League - Ed Walsh, Chicago White Sox

40-15, 1.42 ERA, 269 K

This one was a tough call, not because there weren't any pitchers who stood out, but because there were too many who did.  Addie Joss, who led the league with a miniscule 1.16 ERA, and Cy Young, who at 41 years of age went 21-11 with a career-low 1.26 ERA, were both worthy candidates, but in the end I had to give it to Ed Walsh, who won 16 more games than anyone else, and in the process became the last 40-game winner ever.  Aside from leading the league in wins, he also led in strikeouts, games pitched (66), starts (49), complete games (42), shutouts (11), innings pitched (464 - a post-1900 record), and even saves (6).  Although Joss and Young both had lower ERAs, Walsh finished third with a respectable 1.42 ERA and 164 ERA+, something that certainly can be overlooked considering everything else that he did in 1908.  It was the second year in a row that Walsh was the best pitcher in the AL, and the Future Hall of Famer would finish with the best career ERA in MLB history (1.82), a record that is unlikely to ever be broken.


1908 National League - Christy Mathewson, New York Giants

37-11, 1.43 ERA, 259 K

For the second time in his career, Mathewson won the NL Triple Crown, and for the third time he was the best pitcher in the league.  In addition to the triple crown categories, Mathewson also led in WHIP (0.827), games played (56), starts (44), complete games (34), shutouts (11), innings pitched (390.2), walks per 9 innings (0.968), saves (5), and WAR (10.1).  He was no doubt the NL's best pitcher in 1908, and was also one of the best pitchers ever.  In recognition of his many accomplishments, he was one of the original five players elected to the Hall of Fame in its first year in 1936.