New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole had a legitimate case to win the American League Cy Young award last year.
In the end, Toronto Blue Jays’ left-hander Robbie Ray, now with the Seattle Mariners, got the nod with 29 of 30 first-place votes.
The numbers suggest it should have been a much closer vote, but Cole is now looking ahead, not behind.
In fact, he is entering the 2022 campaign as the betting favorite to win the award in 2022.
As a fun fact (or not so fun, if you are, well, Cole) the Yankees’ righty has never won the Cy Young even though he has been dominating since 2018.
But he is the strongest candidate to take it home this year.
“AL Cy Young odds via @FOXBet: Cole +450, Shane Bieber +700, Ray +900, Lucas Giolito +1100, Dylan Cease +1200, Sean Manaea +1200, Chris Sale +1300, Lance McCullers Jr. +1400, Frankie Montas +1500, Justin Verlander +1600, Shohei Ohtani +1600,” Fox Bet Live tweeted on Wednesday.
AL Cy Young odds via @FOXBet:
Cole +450
Bieber +700
Ray +900
Lucas Giolito +1100
Dylan Cease +1200
Sean Manaea +1200
Chris Sale +1300
Lance McCullers Jr. +1400
Frankie Montas +1500
Justin Verlander +1600
Shohei Ohtani +1600 https://t.co/Yq02wxAdli— FOX Bet Live (@FOXBetLive) March 23, 2022
He Remains An Elite Pitcher In MLB
After a blip following MLB’s decision to ban the use of foreign substances (like spider tack) on the ball in June 2021, Cole’s performance dipped somewhat.
However, he was able to make adjustments for the most part and remained a highly effective pitcher.
Overall, he posted a 3.23 ERA and a 2.92 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) last season, and accumulated 5.3 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in 181.1 innings.
He struck out 243 hitters, too, showing he can dominate in all circumstances.
Many Yankees fans still have his failed Wild Card start in mind, but that shouldn’t take anything away from an excellent pitcher.
He is not the Cy Young favorite in the early going for nothing: it means he has done a lot of things right.
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