Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu had an interesting response when asked by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register who he should vote for in the Cy Young race.
"… especially the innings and strikeouts. I think those 2 are really important factors. But I'm not saying you should vote for him. It was more of a suggestion. You still have the vote in your hand. … I usually don't like to vote for myself in anything." 2/3
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 28, 2019
Ryu pitched his last game of the regular season on Saturday and allowed only five hits over seven scoreless innings. The Dodgers won the game 2-0 and tied the franchise record for wins in a single season.
Ryu, on the other hand, secured the best ERA in the league at 2.32 and gave voters a compelling argument for the Cy Young award.
Rough Stretch Over the Past Couple Months
Just a couple months ago the Dodgers’ left-handed pitcher seemed to be running away with the award, but a rough August and bad start to September set him back a bit.
Ryu allowed nearly half of his earned runs this year (21 of 47) in a 4-game stretch from August 17-September 4. His ERA in his other 25 starts combined: 1.43. That’ll do.
— Jeff J. Snider (@snidog) September 28, 2019
In that span of time, Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets and others started to close the gap on Ryu for the Cy Young. deGrom’s WAR sits a whole point above the next best and over two points above Ryu’s.
Regardless of what happens, the Dodgers’ ace is likely not too focused on the award as he gears up for the start of the playoffs later this week. If he does end up losing out to Degrom, he may have a World Series championship to fall back on in consolation.
