Milwaukee Brewers starter Corbin Burnes was voted the winner of the 2021 National League Cy Young Award over the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler and Los Angeles Dodgers free agent Max Scherzer.
Burns received 12 first-place votes and garnered 151 total points. Wheeler had 12 votes for first place and 141 overall points. Scherzer finished a distant third place with six first-place votes and 113 points.
The trio of right-handed pitchers also were finalists for Players Choice NL Outstanding Pitcher, which went to Scherzer. He previously received that honor while in the American League in 2013 and as a member of the Washington Nationals in 2017.
The Cy Young Award is the first of Burnes’ career. He posted a 2.43 ERA and 1.63 FIP in 167 innings while accumulating 7.5 WAR and striking out 12.61 hitters per nine with just 1.83 walks per nine this year.
Scherzer falls short of joining Rick Sutcliffe (1984) as the only pitchers in MLB history to win a Cy Young during the same season they were traded.
Including time spent with the Washington Nationals, Scherzer went 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 11.84 strikeouts per nine innings and .185 opponents’ batting average this season. He led the Majors in WHIP and batting average against, and was second in the NL in ERA and strikeouts per nine.
Wheeler had the edge in innings pitched at 213.1, but trailed in ERA (2.78), FIP (2.59), strikeouts per nine (10.42), walks per nine (1.94) and WAR (7.3).
Will Dodgers re-sign Scherzer?
The Dodgers have a need for starting pitching and Scherzer certainly would fill that void, but it’s not considered likely that the team will take part in a bidding war.
Of course, given Scherzer’s desire to remain with a World Series contender, and the Dodgers’ having interest in the future Hall of Famer, it isn’t beyond reason to believe the two sides would be willing to collectively work toward a contract.
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