Every year the baseball bloggers here at SB Nation get together and vote on the major post-season awards, using the same format and distribution system as the BBWAA. This year, in addition to my vote, site moderator and contributor "NYRoyal" also voted in the American League contests. Here are the irrelevant results from the weaker league:
| National League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Lincecum | 14 | 2 | 1 | 77 |
| Johan Santana | 1 | 8 | 3 | 32 |
| Brandon Webb | - | 4 | 7 | 19 |
| CC Sabathia | 3 | - | 1 | 16 |
| Cole Hamels | - | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Roy Oswalt | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| Ryan Dempster | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Dan Haren | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Edinson Volquez | - | - | 1 | 1 |
It's odd that the guy who finished a distant fourth actually received the second most first-place votes, and reflective of the Sabathia's unique circumstances this season.
And now for the American League:
| American League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff Lee | 13 | 5 | - | 80 |
| Roy Halladay | 5 | 10 | 1 | 56 |
| Jon Lester | - | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Francisco Rodriguez | - | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Mike Mussina | - | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | - | - | 4 | 4 |
| Ervin Santana | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Justin Duchscherer | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Joe Nathan | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Essentially, the AL boiled down to a not-so-close two-person race, with the third place votes taking their usual role as randomness theater. Although Lee will likely win the "real" award because of his win total, he was actually a worthy candidate according to the more sophisticated metrics as well.
The only reason to prefer Halladay, as I did (voted Halladay-Lee-Lester), was the fact that he faced substantially tougher competition than did Lee, who seemingly pitched against the Royals and Twins forty times. (For my earlier post on this, click here.) I do not suspect the "real" Cy Young vote will be anywhere near this close, and Halladay may actually be surpassed by Lester or Frankie Rodriguez.