1930 Cy Young Awards

1930 American League - Lefty Grove, Philadelphia Athletics

28-5, 2.54 ERA, 209 K

For the third year a row and fourth in five years, Lefty Grove is the best pitcher in the American League.  There was really little doubt about this one; he easily won the Triple Crown, and his ERA was over three quarters of a run better than anyone else, and he had an ERA+ of 185.  He also had the league's best winning percentage, at .848, and along with starting 32 games, he also pitcher 18 in relief, leading the league in both games pitched (50), and even saves (9), although it wasn't an official statistic in 1930.  Still, how many pitcher have ever won the "Quadruple Crown" (when you include saves)? Probably not many. Overall, it was another impressive year for Grove, but the best was yet to come for him.

1930 National League - Dazzy Vance, Brooklyn Robins

17-15, 2.61 ERA, 173 K

His win-loss record isn't terribly impressive, but Dazzy Vance, the 39 year old Hall of Famer and two-time Retroactive Cy Young Award winner was too good in 1930 to let that stand in his way.  His ERA was substantially better than the league average; it was 1.26 runs lower than anyone else, and 2.36 runs lower than the league average, which was an astronomical 4.97; even in the 1900s and early 2000s ERAs were rarely that high.  Vance also finished second in strikeouts, first in shutouts (4), WHIP (1.144), hits per 9 innings (8.385), ERA+ (189 to the runner-up's 125), and WAR (7.3).  Overall, not a bad season for a 39-year-old pitcher in one of the most hitter-dominated years in baseball history.