Then with the Cincinnati Reds, Trevor Bauer won the National League Cy Young Award after posting a 1.73 ERA in 73 innings pitched last season.
However, because the season was shortened to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic, some around the league called it a “Mickey Mouse Cy Young.”
This is something fans across every sport have been doing for any accomplishment they don’t view as legitimate — but more likely because it is a way of coping because their favorite player or team didn’t win.
The term was popularized by Manchester United fans and made more popular due to the Los Angeles Lakers winning the 2020 NBA Finals at Disneyworld.
After every team reached 60 games this year, Bauer decided to award the “Mickey Mouse Cy Young” to one pitcher in the American League and one pitcher in the National League.
Congratulations to @GerritCole45 of the @Yankees and @KevinGausman of the @SFGiants! Fantastic stuff guys! Welcome to the club! pic.twitter.com/hImVphmy6O
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) June 11, 2021
In the American League, Bauer named New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole the AL ‘Mickey Mouse’ Cy Young Award winner for 2021. This season, Cole has anchored the Yankees rotation.
In 89.2 innings, he has posted a 2.31 ERA, 2.44 FIP and 3.6 WAR while striking out 11.7 batters per nine innings and walking only 1.2 per nine.
For the NL winner, Bauer looked to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ longtime rival to recognize San Francisco Giants starter Kevin Gausman.
This season, Gausman has been the ace of the surprising first-place Giants. In 89.2 innings pitched, he has posted a 1.51 ERA, 2.38 FIP and 3.9 WAR while striking out 10.3 per nine and walking 1.9 per nine.
After struggling in 2019 with a 5.72 ERA, Gausman signed a one-year deal with the Giants in 2020 and rebounded with a 3.62 ERA. He then signed another one-year deal with the team and has provided more value than they could have expected.
Bauer passes on deGrom
It is fair to ask if New York Mets starter Jacob deGrom was robbed of the award.
degrom has had arguably the best start to a season in history. In 67 innings, he holds a 0.54 ERA, 0.80 FIP and 3.6 WAR. He has stuck out nearly 15 per nine innings while walking around one. As a hitter, he has a higher batting average (.423) than on-base plus slugging percentage allowed as a pitcher (.357).
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and more!
