1945 Cy Young Awards

1945 American League - Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers

25-9, 1.81 ERA, 212 K

Hal Newhouser had an amazing season in 1944, but missed out on a retroactive Cy Young Award only because of an equally great season from teammate Dizzy Trout.  In 1945, however, he left no doubt that he was the best pitcher in the league.  He won the Triple Crown by healthy margins in every category, and he won his second consecutive MVP Award.  His strong pitching was one of the reasons why the Tigers won the AL pennant, and he went 2-1 in the World Series for them against the Cubs, despite a 6.10 ERA.  Newhouser would later return to the World Series in 1954, where he was part of a pitching staff that included three other future Hall of Famers: Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Bob Feller.  The Cubs, however, have not returned to the World Series since.  On an interesting side note, many years later Hal Newhouser was working as a scout for the Astros, where he urged them to draft a young shortstop that he had discovered.  They ignored him, however, and drafted Phil Nevin.  Instead, the Yankees ended up drafting Derek Jeter, and the rest is history...

1945 National League - Hank Wyse, Chicago Cubs

22-10, 2.68 ERA, 77 K

The National League winner wasn't quite as clear cut as in the AL; several pitchers had decent seasons, but none really stood out above the rest.  Wyse didn't lead the league in a single category, but he was right near the top in most of them, finishing second in wins and innings pitched (278.2), and finishing fifth in ERA and WHIP (1.175), and the other pitchers ahead of him in those two categories all pitched fewer innings, with two of them pitching over 100 fewer innings.  Overall he was the best of a weak field, and although he didn't have a particularly memorable career (he finished 79-70 in eight seasons with a 3.52 ERA), he did help the Cubs to their last NL pennant ever, although he had an atrocious World Series, with a 7.10 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched.