Posted at 11:40 a.m., Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Baseball: Sabathia beats Beckett for AL Cy Young
By Bob Nightengale
USA Today
Sabathia received 19 first-place votes and 119 points, to Beckett's 8 and 86.
"I'm so happy for him," Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro said. "This year he personified the pinnacle of what you want as a No. 1 starter and a leader.
"What really stood out for me is all of those games when he had no run support. He was dominant and deserved to win, but never pointed fingers. He just stayed positive, stayed strong, and controlled what he could control.
"His leadership and maturity were incredible."
Sabathia, 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA, received a $2.25 million bump in pay by winning the Cy Young. He gets a $250,000 bonus and will earn $11 million in 2008 instead of $9 million.
An even bigger monetary prize could soon be coming, too. Sabathia is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, and Shapiro said today that he hopes to sign the left-hander to a contract extension this winter.
"We want to win a championship," Shapiro said, "and I can't imagine any criteria out there where C.C. doesn't give us the best chance to do that. My hope is we get something done. He's a special guy.
"He has a real appreciation for the Indians organization and understands the modern history of where we've been."
Sabathia, 27, became the first Cleveland pitcher to lead the major leagues in innings pitched (241) since Bob Feller in 1947. He became only the second Indians' pitcher to win the Cy Young, joining Gaylord Perry in 1972. He is also the first African-American pitcher since Vida Blue in 1971 to win the AL award.
Sabathia, who lost twice to Beckett during the American League Championship Series, had one fewer victory than Beckett during the regular season. Yet, with a few breaks, he might have been closer to a 25-game winner instead of a 20-game winner. In a 10-start stretch from July 24 through Sept. 8, he went 4-3 with three no-decisions. He never pitched fewer than six innings or allowed more than two earned runs in the 10 starts. He led the AL with 241 innings pitched; Beckett pitched 200ˇinnings.
