1915 Cy Young Awards

1915 American League - Walter Johnson, Washington Senators

 27-13, 1.55 ERA, 203 K

This season was simply more of the same for Walter Johnson, who at the age of 27 has already been the best pitcher in the AL four times by now.  Had it not been for Smoky Joe Wood beating him in ERA by 0.06 runs, it would've also been Johnson's second Triple Crown season.  As it was, he led the league in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched (336.2), shutouts (7), WHIP (0.933), and WAR (9.5).  He also had the highest ERA+, even higher than Wood's, at 191.  This was the third consecutive year that Johnson led the league in wins, and the fifth year (and fourth in a row) that he led in strikeouts.  Just another typical year for Walter Johnson.

1915 National League - Grover Cleveland Alexander, Philadelphia Phillies

31-10, 1.22 ERA, 241

Grover Cleveland Alexander might be one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, but he is also the answer to an odd trivia question: "Who is the only baseball player named after one US president and portrayed by another in a movie?" with the presidents in question being Grover Cleveland and Ronald Reagan.  In any case though, by 1915 he had consistently been among the best pitchers in the league, but 1915 was his first great season.  Along with winning every Triple Crown category by a substantial margin, he led in shutouts (12), innings (376.1), ERA+ (225; 14th all-time), WHIP (0.842), winning percentage (.756), complete games (36), and WAR (9.8).  Although he would go on to have more great seasons, 1915 was definitely the best of his career, and one of the greatest of all time.

1915 Federal League - Eddie Plank, St. Louis Terriers

21-11, 2.08 ERA, 153 K

Unlike in the AL and NL, there was no clear-cut best pitcher in the Federal League in 1915, its second and final year of operation.  However, Hall of Famer Eddie Plank was overall the best, finishing second in ERA (first in ERA+ with 153), fifth in wins, fourth in strikeouts, and first in WHIP (0.991).  Dave Davenport was a worthy candidate as well, and I considered choosing him, but he was lower than Plank in most categories, although he led the league with 392.2 innings pitched, over 100 more than Plank.  However, his relatively mediocre 22-18 record, along with an ERA that was higer by 0.12 runs, suggested that Plank was the better pitcher.  For Plank, it would be his third to last season in the majors, and the only time that he would win a Retroactive Cy Young Award.  Interestingly, although he won over 300 games and is in the Hall of Fame, he never led any league in any of the Triple Crown categories.  Still, he was remarkably consistent over 17 years, averaging 19 wins a year, with an ERA of 2.35 and an ERA+ of 122.