NL Cy Young Award voting featured one surprise

May 20, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Sale on Wednesday was named the NL Cy Young Award winner for the 2024 season. The outcome was expected, but there was a surprise regarding the voting: it wasn’t unanimous.

While Sale captured 26 of the 30 possible votes for first place, Philadelphia Phillies starter Zack Wheeler received four first-place votes.

Sale seemed like a slam-dunk for the award. The 35-year-old southpaw won the NL pitching Triple Crown, as he led the league in wins (18), ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225). In the American League, Tarik Skubal similarly won the Triple Crown and was a unanimous selection. Skubal had very similar stats to Sale too with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 229 strikeouts. Of course, there wasn’t a pitcher in the AL who had as strong of credentials as Wheeler.

Wheeler went 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA and 224 strikeouts. He was behind Sale by a small margin in both ERA and strikeouts. Sale’s Atlanta Braves and Wheeler’s Phillies both made the playoffs, though Philly won the NL East.

Sale seemed to have the edge over Wheeler in most regards. But the Phillies ace pitched 200 innings and made 32 starts compared to 177.2 innings over 29 starts for Sale. Some voters may have believed that those extra three quality starts made Wheeler more deserving of the nod than Sale.

In the end, it’s still surprising to see someone win the pitching Triple Crown and not win the Cy Young Award unanimously. Don’t tell that to fans of Ted Williams; the Red Sox legend won the batting Triple Crown twice (1942, 1947) and didn’t take home AL MVP honors in either season!