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Hear Me Roar
Everything Jake Arrieta touched from the All-Star Break on turned to gold. And the NL Cy Young award was just the final piece to cap off a career year for the Cubs Ace.
Of course, he had two late starts in the play-offs that were a little sub-standard for the Ace; However, Arrieta and the Cubs played the season as if it would end before October. No one, the kids included had planned for the deep play-off run the Cubbies strung together.
Next year, you better believe they’ll be taking a different approach. The future for this Cubs team is now. And Arrieta’s NL Cy Young award was just a preview.
Arrieta was up against one of the tightest fields for the NL Cy Young Award. Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Zack Greinke (1), and Clayton Kershaw (3) are both previous Cy Young winners.
Arrieta led the majors with a total of 22 victories, and piled it on with a record setting 0.75 ERA after the All-Star break. Arrieta even hinted that his competition helped to motivate him down the stretch.
”Deep down inside, we think we can catch them, do a little bit better,” he said.
Down to the Wire
In a tightly contested three horse race for much of the season, it all came down to 30 votes, two for each city in the National League. Arrieta received 17-of-30 first-place votes and 169 points. Greinke earned 10 first-place votes and 147 points. Kershaw had the last three first-place votes and 101 points.
Arrieta went 22-6, including an 11-0 run in his last 12 starts, leading his Cubs into the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The 29-year-old right-hander had a 1.77 ERA, struck out 236 and pitched a no-hitter. He also had four complete games, and three shut-outs.
However, his start was simply ordinary. Arrieta was 6-5 with a 3.40 ERA, after walking six batters in just five innings of a loss to the Cleveland Indians in mid-June. Then, in his final 20 regular-season starts, he went 16-1 and permitted only 14 earned runs. He also had two home runs of his own, while allowing the same number through the remainder of the season.
For Arrieta, his confidence is well documented, his stuff is legendary, and yet even he was a little awed by his own finish.
”I see the numbers on TV, people bring it up to me quite a bit,” he said. ”It’s kind of amazing to think about it.”
For Arrieta and the Cubs, the ride is just leaving the station and it won’t stop until they vanquish every doubt, and win the one thing that has been so elusive. A World Series.
Triple Crown
The last Cub to win a Cy Young award was Greg Maddux in 1992.
This was the third win for the Cubs, as the week started with Kris Bryant winning the NL Rookie of the Year award, and Joe Maddon winning the NL Manager of the year award. The last NL team to win three awards in the same season was the Atlanta Braves in 1991. Tom Glavine earned the Cy Young, Terry Pendleton was the MVP, and Bobby Cox won the manager award.