1941 Cy Young Awards

1941 American League - Thornton Lee, Chicago White Sox

22-11, 2.37 ERA, 130 K

After 23 consecutive seasons of future Hall of Famers winning the American League retroactive Cy Young Award, Thornton Lee becomes the first non-Hall of Fame AL pitcher since fellow White Sox Eddie Cicotte received it in 1917.  He had a fairly nondescript career as a good but unspectacular starter, but in 1941 he was the best pitcher in the league, even better than the winner the previous two seasons, Bob Feller.  Feller had a good season, and was actually ranked third in MVP voting ahead of Lee's fourth place finish, but in my opinion Lee was the better pitcher. He led the AL in ERA (by 0.6 runs), complete games (30), ERA+ (174), and WHIP (1.165), and although his White Sox went absolutely nowhere in 1941, he was still the most effective pitcher in the league.  He never came close to having as successful as a season in any other year though; he never won more than 15 games in a season other than in 1941, and although he pitched seven more seasons, he only once again pitched more than 127 innings in a season, and retired with a 117-124 record.

1941 National League - Whit Wyatt, Brooklyn Dodgers

22-10, 2.34 ERA, 176 K

This was a close call between Wyatt and Cincinnati's Elmer Riddle, but in the end I chose Wyatt, and so did the MVP voters in 1941, who ranked him third overall and first among pitchers.  Wyatt's career was interesting in that he pitched better in his 30s than in his 20s.  He was a below average pitcher for the first nine seasons of his career, posting a 26-43 record with a 5.22 ERA and an 88 ERA+ mostly as a relief pitcher.  However, after spending the entire 1938 season in the minors, he re-emerged as a top-notch starter for the Dodgers, going 80-52 in his last seven seasons with a 2.97 ERA and 124 ERA+, and being selected as an All Star in each of his first four seasons upon his return to the majors.  This was by far his best season though, when he led the Dodgers to the NL pennant while leading the league in wins, shutouts (7) and WHIP (1.058) and finishing second in both ERA and strikeouts.  After 1941, he went on to pitch two more full seasons and finished his career in 1945 with a 106-95 record.