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Garrett Richards: From All Star Snub To Cy Young Pub

Ok, it's time to have this conversation.

It's July 24th, and I'm ready to begin the "Garrett Richards Cy Young race discussion." This comes just a couple hours before the Halos start a four game set against Detroit with Richards on the hill, so if things look decidedly un-Cy-Young-award-like tonight, forget I said anything. If things do go well against the AL Central leaders however, the second place finisher in the AL Final Vote (HOW ASININE IS THAT?) could take a step closer towards joining those pitchers that have not been elected to the All Star Game, yet took home baseball's top pitching prize. First some historical reference.

18 times since the Cy Young award was first given to Don Newcombe in 1956, (himself not elected to the ASG), the award winner was not invited to the mid-summer classic. Included with each pitchers statistics is their team's record at the end of the season.

  • 1956 - Don Newcombe - Brooklyn - 27-7, 3.06, 93-61
  • 1967 - Mike McCormick - San Francisco - 22-10, 2.85, 91-71
  • 1969 - Mike Cuellar - Baltimore - 23-11, 2.38, 109-53
  • 1973 - Jim Palmer - Baltimore - 22-9, 2.40, 97-65
  • 1976 - Jim Palmer - Baltimore - 22-13, 2.51, 88-74
  • 1978 - Gaylord Perry - San Diego - 21-6, 2.73, 84-78
  • 1979 - Mike Flanagan - Baltimore - 23-9, 3.08, 102-57
  • 1982 - Pete Vuckovich - Milwaukee - 18-6, 3.34, 95-67
  • 1983 - John Denny - Philadelphia - 19-6, 2.37, 90-72
  • 1983 - LaMarr Hoyt - Chicago White Sox - 24-10, 3.66, 99-63
  • 1985 - Bret Saberhagen - Kansas City - 20-6, 2.87, 91-71
  • 1987 - Roger Clemens - Boston - 20-9, 2.97, 78-84
  • 1989 - Bret Saberhagen - Kansas City - 23-6, 2.16, 92-70
  • 1990 - Doug Drabek - Pittsburgh - 22-6, 2.76, 95-67
  • 1993 - Greg Maddux - Atlanta - 20-10, 2.36, 104-58
  • 1996 - Pat Hentgen - Toronto - 20-10, 3.22, 74-88
  • 2004 - Johan Santana - Minnesota - 20-6, 2.61, 92-70
  • 2010 - Felix Hernandez - Seattle - 13-12, 2.27, 61-101

I include the records because you'll notice, as has long been the case, this award is typically given to a pitcher from a competitive ball club. This doesn't always happen though. For your convenience, here's the same list sorted by team record.

  • 1969 - Mike Cuellar - Baltimore - 23-11, 2.38, 109-53
  • 1993 - Greg Maddux - Atlanta - 20-10, 2.36, 104-58
  • 1979 - Mike Flanagan - Baltimore - 23-9, 3.08, 102-57
  • 1983 - LaMarr Hoyt - Chicago White Sox - 24-10, 3.66, 99-63
  • 1973 - Jim Palmer - Baltimore - 22-9, 2.40, 97-65
  • 1982 - Pete Vuckovich - Milwaukee - 18-6, 3.34. 95-67
  • 1990 - Doug Drabek - Pittsburgh - 22-6, 2.76, 95-67
  • 1956 - Don Newcombe - Brooklyn - 27-7, 3.06, 93-61
  • 1989 - Bret Saberhagen - Kansas City - 23-6, 2.16, 92-70
  • 2004 - Johan Santana - Minnesota - 20-6, 2.61, 92-70
  • 1967 - Mike McCormick - San Francisco - 22-10, 2.85, 91-71
  • 1985 - Bret Saberhagen - Kansas City - 20-6, 2.87, 91-71
  • 1983 - John Denny - Philadelphia - 19-6, 2.37, 90-72
  • 1976 - Jim Palmer - Baltimore - 22-13, 2.51, 88-74
  • 1978 - Gaylord Perry - San Diego - 21-6, 2.73, 84-78
  • 1987 - Roger Clemens - Boston - 20-9, 2.97, 78-84
  • 1996 - Pat Hentgen - Toronto - 20-10, 3.22, 74-88
  • 2010 - Felix Hernandez - Seattle - 13-12, 2.27, 61-101

The reason it's important to look at team record, is because the argument can be made that in some seasons a pitcher from a losing club is so dominant, or there's a vacancy of such a performance elsewhere, that we need to give it to a pitcher from a bad team. It happens, but as indicated above, it is rare. Furthermore, if there are that many all star worthy pitchers, that we can afford to exclude Garrett Richards, we can find a pitcher on a winning club deserving of the prize. Keep in mind the above this is just a sample of Cy Young Award winners. Now to those pitchers elected to the 2014 All Star Game.

2014 All Star Game American League Pitchers:

Firstly, we can eliminate all relief pitchers. It's only happened five times, and it's given following a truly historic performance, or in the absence of a dominating starting pitcher. So goodbye Betances, Doolittle, Holland, and Uehara, and most of all Rodney. Because this is American League baseball, not The Hunger Games.

Next, the best pitchers on the best teams in the American League are good enough that we don't need to go slumming for a Cy Young Award winner. So goodbye Darvish, Lester, Sale, and Price.

Isn't this easy? It's only July 24th, and and we've trimmed the AL Cy Young list to a neat six. Here's who's left:

  • Mark Buehrle, Toronto, 10-6, 2.86
  • Felix Hernandez, Seattle, 11-2, 2.02
  • Scott Kazmir, Oakland, 11-3, 2.32
  • Max Scherzer, Detroit, 11-3, 3.34
  • Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees, 12-4, 2.51
  • Garrett Richards, Angels, 11-2, 2.47

Scherzer's out. Detroit began the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the Central and it will take a sub 3 ERA for him to take the crown in back to back seasons. Tanaka's inclusion in the ASG over Richards had everything to do with the buzz around his signing in the offseason. Why Tanaka over Richards? He's a hot topic. It would take winning the AL East for Buehrle to be the winner, which I don't think happens.

So we're left with three. In 2010 voters award the Cy Young to Hernandez, despite playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Second place was David Price who went 19-6 with a 2.72 ERA for a Tampa Bay squad that won 96 games and the American League East. Would voters extend the same courtesies to King Felix that they extended in 2010 if Seattle misses the playoff? Certainly that ERA hovering right at 2 is difficult to ignore. A Seattle playoff appearance may make this a slam dunk.

Kazmir may not be the best pitcher on his own team. Sonny Gray has won his last four starts to match Kazmir's 11-3 record. Kazmir maintains a better ERA, but if their second halves follow similar paths, will voters elect to vote for Hernandez or Richards rather than pick from Oakland's pair of aces?

Then there's our boy. The All Star snub was criminal, particularly when "Broken Arrow" himself was named as an ASG replacement. If his ERA continues to fall, (it was 3.65 on May 30th) and the Halos find themselves in the postseason can his contributions to a rotation that had some many question marks when the season began continue to be ignored? I wouldn't think so.

Unless of course Detroit slaps him around tonight, then forget I said anything.

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