Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez has won the 2010 AL Cy Young Award.
Hernandez boasted a MLB-leading 2.27 ERA and 232 strikeouts, although he had a so-so 13-12 record during the regular season. He beat out Tampa Bay Rays’ David Price and the New York Yankees‘ CC Sabathia, who had better win-loss numbers.
Hernandez’s overall record was the victim of the Mariners’ poor hitting all season, but is performance on the mound earned him the majority of votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Hernandez got 21 of the 28 first-place votes and 167 points. Price had four first-place votes and had a total of 111 points while Sabathia got three top-spot ballots and a total of 102 points.
“This confirms the Cy Young is an award not only for the pitcher with the most wins but the most dominant,” a teary-eyed Hernandez said while celebrating with relatives at the family home in Valencia, Venezuela.
The 13 wins by Hernandez marked the fewest for a Cy Young starter in a full season — Tim Lincecum set the record last year with 15 victories for the San Francisco Giants.
Fernando Valenzuela won the NL award in strike-shortened 1981 after going 13-7. His mark of six games over .500 had been the lowest for any Cy starter until Hernandez.