AL Cy Young Award: Kansas City Royals' Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke Kansas City Royals American League Cy Young Award

With his American League-best 2.16 ERA, Royals right-hander Zack Greinke became the first starter to win the AL Cy Young Award with fewer than 18 wins.

In results announced Tuesday, Greinke received 25 of 28 first-place votes. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez got two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting, and Detroit's Justin Verlander received one first-place vote and finished third, one point ahead of Yankees lefty CC Sabathia.

Greinke was 16-8, and his relatively low win total was due to a poor Kansas City offense. The Royals averaged 3.8 runs scored in his starts, tied for the worst run support in the AL. Greinke had six starts in which he allowed fewer than two runs but did not get a win.

But his ERA was best for an AL qualifier since Pedro Martinez in 2000, and Greinke led the league in opponents' on-base percentage (.276), baserunners allowed per nine innings (9.81) and fewest home runs per nine innings (0.43). He was second in complete games (six), shutouts (four), strikeouts (242), opponents' average (.230) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.75).

How They Voted
Voting for 2009 AL Cy Young Award (5 points for a first-place vote, 3 for second, 1 for third):
Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
Greinke, Royals	25	3		134
F.Hernandez, M's	2	23	1	80
Verlander, Tigers	1		9	14
Sabathia, Yankees		2	7	13
Halladay, Blue Jays			11	11

It was a remarkable year, even more so because Greinke missed almost half the 2006 season with an anxiety disorder.

So the hardest part of his season might have been the media attention.

"It's not so much it takes away so much time that you can't [keep to a routine]," Greinke said in July. "My mind, I can't get back to the right mindset after I leave the right mindset. It takes a while to get back to it sometimes."

He began this season with a 0.00 ERA in his first four starts and became the third big-leaguer to have an ERA better than 1.00 over his first 10 starts. Greinke also finished strong, setting a team record with 15 strikeouts on Aug. 25 against Cleveland, following that up with a one-hitter against Seattle and going 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his final eight starts.

Greinke, who turned 26 on Oct. 21, is the third Royals pitcher to win a Cy Young Award, after Bret Saberhagen (1985 and 1989) and David Cone (1994).

Hernandez (19-5 with a 2.49 ERA) tied for the league lead in wins and was second in ERA. Verlander was 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA and led the AL with 269 strikeouts. Sabathia was 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA.