1939 Cy Young Awards

1939 American League - Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians

24-9, 2.85 ERA, 246 K

This year was the last great season for Lefty Grove, who I had previously awarded a record nine retroactive Cy Young Awards to.  He led the league in ERA for a record ninth and final time, and he made his sixth and final All Star appearance.  However, he wasn't quite as good as Cleveland's ace Bob Feller who, at just 20 years of age, was already an All Star from the previous year and the defending league leader in strikeouts.  He ended up finishing third in the MVP voting in 1939, was selected to another All Star game, and led the league in wins, complete games (24), innings pitched (296.2), and an astonishing 246 strikeouts, 54 more than the runner up and 109 more than the NL champion.  It was a great season for the young Bob Feller, but the best was still to come for him.

1939 National League - Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds

27-11, 2.29 ERA, 137 K

Throughout the history of the Cincinnati Reds, they have had some great teams, yet one area that they have always been lacking in is good pitching.  As mentioned before, no Reds pitcher has ever won the Cy Young Award, few have been elected to the Hall of Fame, and none have won 200 games or more while in Cincinnati; their all-time leader in wins is Eppa Rixey, with 179, the least among any of the "original" 16 MLB teams (The Red Sox are the only other team without a 200-game winner in their history; Cy Young and Roger Clemens are tied for the team lead with 192).  However, for several seasons in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Reds had one of the best pitchers in the league in Bucky Walters.  While winning both the Triple Crown and the MVP Award, Walters also led the Reds to their first NL pennant since 1919, although they were swept in the World Series by the Yankees.  Interestingly, although he developed into one of the best pitchers of his era and a borderline Hall of Fame candidate, he spent his first four MLB seasons as a third baseman for the Braves, Red Sox, and Phillies before he decided to give pitching a try.  Naturally, it would figure that the Red Sox of all teams would unknowingly have an MVP-caliber pitcher playing as a backup third baseman.