1883 Cy Young Awards

1883 American Association - Will White, Cincinnati Red Stockings

43-22, 2.09 ERA, 141 K

Statistically speaking, White didn't do quite as well in 1883 as he had the year before, but it was still good enough for him to earn his second consecutive retroactive American Association Cy Young Award. Hiis 43 wins, 2.09 ERA, and 6 shutouts led the league, and he finished second in starts (64), complete games (64), and innings pitched (577).  Hall of Famer Tim Keefe also pitched well that season, beating him in those three categories and leading the league in strikeouts, but overall White had the better season, especially considering White's ERA was nearly half a run better than Keefe's

1883 National League - Old Hoss Radbourn, Providence Grays

48-25, 2.05, 315

As it turns out, the best pitchers in each league in 1882 were also the best in 1883, with Radbourn leading the league by winning an astonishing 48 games (5th all-time) in 68 starts and 632.1 innings pitched.  He also finished second in ERA, strikeouts, and shutouts (4), and even managed to tie for third place in saves (a statistic that was not invented until years later) with one.  Additionally, although unrelated to his pitching performance, he played 20 games in the outfield, 2 at first base, and hit 3 home runs, drove in 48 runs, and batted .283.

1882 Cy Young Awards

1882 American Association - Will White, Cincinnati Red Stockings

40-12, 1.54 ERA, 122 K

1882 was the first year in which there were two major leagues - the National League, and the relatively short-lived American Association.  Had the Cy Young Award existed at the time, it would have gone to the star pitcher of the league champion Cincinnati Red Stockings, Will White.  By now a six-year major league veteran, White had previously set single season records for games started (75), complete games (75) and innings pitched (680).  While he did not come close to those figures in 1882, he still led the league in complete games, with 52, and innings pitched, with 480.  Additionally, he led the league in wins, and was fourth in ERA, although he pitched substantially more innings than the other pitchers that he was behind.   Incidentally, the Cincinnati Reds have never had a pitcher who won the Cy Young Award, but had the award existed in 1882, Cincinnati's first year of existence, White certainty would have earned it.

1882 National League - Old Hoss Radbourn, Providence Grays

33-19, 2.11 ERA, 201 K

The 1882 NL Award was a toss-up between 1880 winner Jim McCormick and Radbourn, but I gave it to Radbourn because of his better ERA, and the fact that he led the league in strikeouts and shutouts (6).  He was also second in games started (51), complete games (50), and innings pitched (466), although McCormick finished first in all three of those categories.  He is also the first pitcher that I have chosen for a retroactive Cy Young Award who has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, although 1882 was just his second year in the majors, and his greatest fame as a pitcher was yet to come.

1881 Cy Young Award

1881 National League - George Derby, Detroit Wolverines

29-26, 2.20 ERA, 212 K

At first glance, Derby's stats from 1881 don't appear to be eye popping, but he pitched for a sub-.500 team and yet still managed to finish third in wins.  In addition, he led the league in strikeouts and finished third in ERA, although he pitched far more innings than the two pitchers ahead of him.  The 23 year old rookie also led the league with 9 shutouts, and pitched 494.2 innings, good for third place on the season.  Curiously, he followed it up with two below average seasons, including a dreadful 2-10, 5.85 season in 1883, and never pitched in the majors again.

1880 Cy Young Award

1880 National League - Jim McCormick, Cleveland Blues

45-28, 1.85 ERA, 260 K

Jim McCormick was pretty busy in 1880, to say the least.  He started an astonishing 74 games, completing 72 of them; both figures are good for third all time.  He also pitched 657.2 innings, the 4th most of all time.  All of those stats would be impressive no matter how he pitched, but to make things even better, he was also the best pitcher of the year.  In addition to leading the league in wins, he finished second in strikeouts, second in shutouts, and fifth in ERA (and he pitched more innings than the 1st, 2nd, and 4th place pitchers combined).  All in all, he certainly would have deserved the Cy Young Award if it was around in 1880.

1879 Cy Young Award

1879 National League - Tommy Bond, Boston Red Stockings

43-19, 1.96 ERA, 155 K

For the third consecutive year, Tommy Bond was the best pitcher in baseball, leading the NL in ERA for the second time in three years and shutouts for the third consecutive year.  With an expanded schedule, Bond was no longer to pitch virtually all of Boston's games, but he still started 64 of the team's 84 games, completing all but five of them and throwing 11 shutouts in the process.  Still, Boston was unable to win their third consecutive pennant, finishing second, five games behind the Providence Grays, who were led by my choice as the runner-up for the 1879 Cy Young Award, Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward.  Although Bond never joined him in the Hall of Fame (he received 1.3% of the vote in 1936 and did not appear on the ballot again) he certainly put together an impressive three consecutive seasons in which he was the best pitcher in baseball.

1878 Cy Young Award

1878 National League - Tommy Bond, Boston Red Stockings

40-19, 2.06 ERA, 182 K

The Boston Red Stockings repeated as National League champions in 1878, and had the Cy Young Award existed then, Tommy Bond likely would have repeated the award as well.  Although he finished fifth in the league in ERA, he was still the leader in wins and strikeouts, and started all but one of his team's games, leading the league with 59 games started.  He also led the league in shutouts for the second consecutive year, and he had by far the highest WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for any pitcher in the league, with 10.8 wins, over the next highest, which was 6.4.  Incidentally, his 10.8 WAR on the season is tied for 48th all-time, alongside Sandy Koufax in 1963 and 1966.

1877 Cy Young Award

1877 National League - Tommy Bond, Boston Red Stockings

40-17, 2.11 ERA, 170 K

Since the Cy Young Award was first given out in 1956, 13 pitchers have won the Triple Crown - leading the league in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts.  All 13 won the Cy Young Award, so it would be safe to assume that, had the award existed in 1877, Tommy Bond's Triple Crown season would have guaranteed him the award.  Bond started 58 of Boston's 61 games, something that was not at all uncommon in the early days of professional baseball, but he did so while leading his team to their first National League pennant.  At the time, there was no other major league, and therefore no World Series, making the Red Stockings the de facto world champions of baseball.