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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, November 17, 2009

MLB: Greinke wins American League Cy Young Award


By Sam Mellinger
McClatchy Newspapers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Zack Greinke’s sweep of the major awards is complete after being named the American League Cy Young winner by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Greinke won with 25 of 28 first-place votes, and 134 points, easily beating runner-up Felix Hernandez of Seattle, who received two first-place votes and 80 points. Detroit’s Justin Verlander received the other first-place vote.
Greinke went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts in 229 1/3 innings, his breakout season becoming a needed point of pride in an otherwise dreadful Royals season. His ERA was more than a third of a run better than Hernandez, who finished second, and the AL’s best mark since Pedro Martinez in 2000.
There had been some fear among Royals fans that Greinke’s relatively low win total — he was three behind the league co-leaders, and 16 is the fewest wins for any starting pitcher named the AL Cy Young winner — but his individual brilliance outweighed the team’s disappointment.
Included in his record are three losses and seven no-decisions in games he gave up two or fewer runs. His 4.83 runs of support were the lowest among 37 American League pitchers with 140 or more innings.
Greinke was also named the Royals pitcher of the year on Tuesday.