1911 Cy Young Awards

1911 American League - Vean Gregg, Cleveland Naps

23-7, 1.80 ERA, 125 K

If you've never heard of Vean Gregg before, that's okay, because I never had before either.  But, despite pitching for a team whose nickname could easily be confused with a midday rest period, Gregg was the best pitcher in the league during his rookie season.  Along with a league-leading 1.80 ERA (and 189 ERA+), he had the second highest win-loss percentage, the lowest WHIP (1.054), and finished fourth in wins and third in shutouts (5).  It was an impressive season with an otherwise mediocre Cleveland team, but Gregg only had two more successful seasons before suffering an arm injury in 1914 that essentially ended his major league career.

1911 National League - Christy Mathewson, New York Giants

26-13, 1.99 ERA, 141 K

Mathewson faced some competition from rookie Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911, but he remained the best pitcher in the league for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time in his career.  Mathewson is one of the top 5 greatest pitchers of all time, and 1911 was just another feather in his cap.  He was the only NL pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA, and he also led in fewest walks per 9 innings (1.114), second in wins, third in WHIP (1.111), and third in WAR.  Alexander finished ahead of him in some of these categories, including leading the league in wins and innings pitched, but Mathewson's ERA was so much lower (1.99 to Alexander's 5th place 2.57), and all of their other stats were so similar, that I had to give it to him.