This year’s NL Cy Young vote was one of the closest in history, but 1987’s vote was the closest ever. Let’s take a quick retrospective.
| Rank | Tm | Vote Pts | 1st Place | Share | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Bedrosian | PHI | 57.0 | 9.0 | 48% | 5 | 3 | 2.83 | 65 | 0 | 40 | 89.0 |
| 2 | Rick Sutcliffe | CHC | 55.0 | 4.0 | 46% | 18 | 10 | 3.68 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 237.1 |
| 3 | Rick Reuschel | TOT | 54.0 | 8.0 | 45% | 13 | 9 | 3.09 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 227.0 |
| 4 | Orel Hershiser | LAD | 14.0 | 2.0 | 12% | 16 | 16 | 3.06 | 37 | 35 | 1 | 264.2 |
| 5 | Dwight Gooden | NYM | 12.0 | 1.0 | 10% | 15 | 7 | 3.21 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 179.2 |
| 5 | Nolan Ryan | HOU | 12.0 | 0.0 | 10% | 8 | 16 | 2.76 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 211.2 |
| 7 | Mike Scott | HOU | 9.0 | 0.0 | 8% | 16 | 13 | 3.23 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 247.2 |
| 8 | Bob Welch | LAD | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2% | 15 | 9 | 3.22 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 251.2 |
Steve Bedrosian? Whiff!
Let's consult Rally's Historical WAR Database to find the "shoulda been" winner.
| WAR | |
| Steve Bedrosian | 2.6 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 5.6 |
| Rick Reuschel | 3.8 |
| Orel Hershiser | 6.7 |
| Nolan Ryan | 5.5 |
| Doc Gooden | 3.8 |
| Mike Scott | 5.7 |
| Bob Welch | 6.6 |
It turns out Orel Hershiser was the guy, but he had 16 losses, which is of course is anathema. His teammate Bob Welch was equally as good, and yet received only one lowsy 3rd place vote. He checked in with just 15 wins. Good performance but wrong era, guys.
Nolan Ryan was as good as Rick Sutcliffe, but despite 270 strikeouts, Ryan obviously didn't know how to win. Pssshh.
For all the holy outrage against certain newbies who are now voting BBWAA, just take a gander at 1987's results. People have done a lot crazier things with their ballots.