1938 Cy Young Awards

1938 American League - Red Ruffing, New York Yankees

21-7, 3.31 ERA, 127 K

Red Ruffing is one of those pitchers who got better the older he got.  He started off his career with the Red Sox in 1924, where he spent seven seasons and compiled an absolutely dreadful 39-96 record.  Finally, he was traded to the Yankees in 1930 for a broken bat and a few wads of used chewing tobacco (or Cedric Durst, as the case may be).  There, as former Red Sox players are wont to do, his career started to take off, but it wasn't until he was in his early 30s that he developed into one of the best in the league.  In 1938, he led the league in wins, and finished second in ERA, fifth in strikeouts, third in WHIP (1.326), and tied for second in WAR (5.0).  It wasn't an amazingly dominant season, but it was the best of a fairly weak pool in 1938.  He did finish fourth in MVP voting though, the highest among any pitcher in the league.  Lefty Grove, who previously had won nine retroactive Cy Young Awards in the past 12 seasons, pitched well, leading the league in ERA yet again, but it was in only 163.2 innings, and he finished with 14 wins in just 24 starts.

1938 National League - Bill Lee, Chicago Cubs

22-9, 2.66 ERA, 121 K

Not to be confused with the 1970s Red Sox pitcher of the same name, Bill Lee was a fairly effective starting pitcher for the Cubs, particularly in the mid to late 1930s.  However, his 1938 performance far surpassed any other year; he led the league in wins and ERA, finished fourth in strikeouts, and also led in starts (37), shutouts (9), and ERA+ (144).  He made his first of two All-Star appearances this year, and he finished second only to Cincinnati catcher Ernie Lombardi in the MVP voting.  Along the way, he led the Cubs to a rare NL pennant, although they were promptly swept by Red Ruffing's Yankees in the World Series.  The Cubs would make it to the World Series one more time, in 1945, and they haven't been there since.