Detroit Tigers righthander Max Scherzer was an overwhelming winner of the American League Cy Young Award in balloting by the BBWAA that was announced on MLB Network.

Scherzer (21-3, 2.90 ERA) was named first on 28 of the 30 ballots submitted by two writers representing each league city, was second on one ballot and third on the other to score 203 points, based on a tabulation system that rewards seven points for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. He was the only pitcher listed on every ballot.

Texas Rangers righthander Yu Darvish (13-9, 2.83 ERA) was the runner-up in the voting with 93 points. Seattle Mariners righthander Hisashi Iwakuma (14-6, 2.66 ERA) placed third with 73. It was the first time Japanese-born pitchers finished higher than fourth place in Cy Young Award voting.

Receiving one first-place vote apiece were Tigers righthander Anibal Sanchez (14-8, 2.57 ERA), who placed fourth overall in the balloting, and Chicago White Sox lefthander Chris Sale (11-4, 3.07 ERA, 226 K), who finished fifth.

Scherzer, 29, led the league in victories, winning percentage (.875) and WHIP (0.970). His 13-game winning streak from the start of the season April 6 through July 3 was the longest in the major leagues. Scherzer was victorious in 19 of his first 20 decisions.

It was the fifth time a Detroit pitcher was honored. Scherzer joins current teammate Justin Verlander, who won in 2011, as well as the 1984 recipient, Guillermo “Willie” Hernandez, and two-time winner Denny McLain (1968-69).

Darvish, who led the AL in strikeouts with 277 in 209 2/3 innings, became only the second Asian pitcher to finish as high as second in Cy Young voting. Taiwan-born Chien-Ming Wang of the New York Yankees was the runner-up in the AL balloting in 2006 to the Minnesota Twins’ Johan Santana. The highest previous finish in Cy Young voting for a pitcher born in Japan was fourth place twice by Hideo Nomo with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995 and 1996.

The voting (7-4-3-2-1 scoring system):



2013 AL Cy Young

Player, Club 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Points Max Scherzer, Tigers 28 1 1 203 Yu Darvish, Rangers 19 3 1 6 93 Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners 6 12 6 1 73 Anibal Sanchez, Tigers 1 1 3 9 8 46 Chris Sale, White Sox 1 5 8 6 44 Bartolo Colon, Athletics 2 3 1 6 25 Koji Uehara, Red Sox 1 2 10 Felix Hernandez, Mariners 1 1 1 6 Matt Moore, Rays 2 4 Greg Holland, Royals 1 2 4 James Shields, Royals 1 2

Below is a breakdown of the 30 individual ballots, submitted by two writers representing each city in the National League. For more information on the voting, see our Voting FAQ.



2013 AL Cy Young ballots