Porcello Wins 2016 American League Cy Young

Brian Hines
Contributing Writer

In his first season with the Red Sox, Rick Porcello went 9-15 with a 4.92 ERA. Numbers that were so bad it didn't seem real that the Red Sox handed him a 4-year, $82.5 million extension.

But this season Rick Porcello was a new man. He led the MLB with 22 wins and only was tagged for 4 losses. He supported a 3.15 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and a WAR of 5.0. His 189 strikeouts were career highs and his 32 base on balls was a career low. A season so good that Rick Porcello has been named the 2016 AL Cy Young.

Rick Porcello edged out Justin Verlander 137-132 to win the AL Cy Young
Photo Courtesy of Billie Weiss/Getty Images

Porcello narrowly edged out former teammate Justin Verlander to win the award. Porcello finished with 137 points to Verlander's 132, the second closest finish since 1970. It was also the first time ever the winner did not receive the most first place votes, Porcello had eight and Verlander totaled fourteen. 18 second place votes and ranking among the top three pitchers on 28 of 30 ballots secured Porcello the win.

Two writers from the Tampa area, Fred Goodall of The Associated Press and Bill Chasten of MLB.com, left Verlander complete off their ballots.

Verlander's fiancee, Kate Upton, took to twitter to rip the results of the award. In several tweets, Upton told @MLB to "keep up with the times and fire those writers." She then added how she thought she was "the only person allowed to f*** (Verlander)."

Porcello is the last Red Sox to win the Cy Young since Pedro Martinez in 1999. He also joins Martinez and Roger Clemens as the only Red Sox pitchers to win at least 20 games.