After winning the pitching Triple Crown by leading the league in wins (24), ERA (2.40) and strikeouts (250), Tigers ace Justin Verlander was finally awarded the AL Cy Young Award, a title that was for the most part his back in August.
Verlander won the award by unanimous decision after all 28 voters cast their ballot for him.
Los Angeles Angels starter Jered Weaver finished second in the Cy Young voting well behind Verlander. Following Weaver was Tampa Bay Rays starter James Shields and New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia.
Verlander now sets his eyes on the American League MVP Award which will be named Monday.
“Do I think it’s possible? Yes,” Verlander said of winning the MVP Award. “Would I like to win it? Of course. But if you had told me at the beginning of the year that I was going to be a shoo-in for the Cy Young, I would have been absolutely ecstatic and amazed. I never even could have thought about the MVP until it came into the picture.
“But you know what? I’ve got the Cy Young now. It’s an amazing experience. I feel great.”
Tigers closer Jose Valverde finished fifth in the Cy Young Voting with one second place vote meaning that one writer had Verlander and Valverde one and two on their ballot.
In addition to Verlander being honored Tuesday, Tigers executive Dave Domrowski was named the co-Executive of the Year by the Sporting News.
Dombrowski shared the honor with Doug Melvin of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Fifty-five front office executives took part in the voting. Dombrowski and Melvin both received 13 votes making this the first time the voting has ended in a tie since Sporting News started giving out the award in 1936. This is according to the Sporting News.
Ref: Sporting News, Mlive.com, AnnArbor.com (image)