The Cy Young Award is given to the two best pitchers in Major League Baseball since 1967, but before that year the award was given only to the best overall pitcher in the MLB. Few pitchers have had the joy of winning the Cy Young Award twice in a row.

The first Cy Young winner was Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers with a record of 27 wins and only 7 losses and a 3.06 ERA. Newcombe also played in the Negro League with the Newark Eagles before joining Major League Baseball in 1949.

The Dodgers, Brooklyn or Los Angeles, are the most dominant team in the Cy Young Award as they have the most pitchers who were awarded the Cy Young title with a total of 12 awards, no other team is close to double digits.

Why is it called Cy Young Award?

The award is named after one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball in the United States, Denton True “Cy” Young. He played for the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, Boston Americans, and Boston Rustlers.

Who is the player with the most Cy Young Awards?

Roger Clemens playing for Yankees

Roger Clemens is the MLB player with a record seven Cy Young Awards (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004). The other player with a large number of awards is Randy Johnson with 5 awards and third on the list are Steve Carlton and Greg Maddux with 4 each.

Only two active players, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, are relatively close to Clemens’ record with three Cy Young Awards each. Most of the other players on the list are either retired or way off Clemens’ record.

Who has won the Cy Young Award in a row?

Koufax playing for Dodgers

Sandy Koufax was the first to establish that record by winning two consecutive Cy Young Awards in 1965 and 1966. The second to win the award twice in a row was Jim Palmer (1975 and 1976), other players who did the same was Roger Clemens (first double 1986, 1987, second double 1997, 1998), Pedro Martinez ( 1999 and 2000), Lincecum (2008, 2009), Kershaw (2013, 2014), Scherzer (2016, 2017) and deGrom (2018, 2019).

Other players set literally unbreakable Cy Young Award records by winning the award three or more times in a row: Greg Maddux (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) and Randy Johnson (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002).

ListofCy Young Award winners in the American League

Year Pitcher Team Record Saves ERA K’s
1967 Jim Lonborg Boston Red Sox 22–9 0 3.16 246
1968 Denny McLain Detroit Tigers 31–6 0 1.96 280
1969 Mike Cuellar Baltimore Orioles 23–11 0 2.38 182
1969 Denny McLain Detroit Tigers 24–9 0 2.80 181
1970 Jim Perry Minnesota Twins 24–12 0 3.04 168
1971 Vida Blue Oakland Athletics 24–8 0 1.82 301
1972 Gaylord Perry Cleveland Indians 24–16 1 1.92 234
1973 Jim Palmer Baltimore Orioles 22–9 1 2.40 168
1974 Catfish Hunter Oakland Athletics 25–12 0 2.49 143
1975 Jim Palmer Baltimore Orioles 23–11 1 2.09 193
1976 Jim Palmer Baltimore Orioles 22–13 0 2.51 159
1977 Sparky Lyle New York Yankees 13–5 26 2.17 68
1978 Ron Guidry New York Yankees 25–3 0 1.74 248
1979 Mike Flanagan Baltimore Orioles 23–9 0 3.08 190
1980 Steve Stone Baltimore Orioles 25–7 0 3.23 149
1981 Rollie Fingers Milwaukee Brewers 6–3 28 1.04 61
1982 Pete Vuckovich Milwaukee Brewers 18–6 0 3.34 105
1983 LaMarr Hoyt Chicago White Sox 24–10 0 3.66 148
1984 Willie Hernández Detroit Tigers 9–3 32 1.92 112
1985 Bret Saberhagen Kansas City Royals 20–6 0 2.87 158
1986 Roger Clemens Boston Red Sox 24–4 0 2.48 238
1987 Roger Clemens Boston Red Sox 20–9 0 2.97 256
1988 Frank Viola Minnesota Twins 24–7 0 2.64 193
1989 Bret Saberhagen Kansas City Royals 23–6 0 2.16 193
1990 Bob Welch Oakland Athletics 27–6 0 2.95 127
1991 Roger Clemens Boston Red Sox 18–10 0 2.62 241
1992 Dennis Eckersley Oakland Athletics 7–1 51 1.91 93
1993 Jack McDowell Chicago White Sox 22–10 0 3.37 158
1994 David Cone Kansas City Royals 16–5 0 2.94 132
1995 Randy Johnson Seattle Mariners 18–2 0 2.48 294
1996 Pat Hentgen Toronto Blue Jays 20–10 0 3.22 177
1997 Roger Clemens Toronto Blue Jays 21–7 0 2.05 292
1998 Roger Clemens Toronto Blue Jays 20–6 0 2.65 271
1999 Pedro Martínez Boston Red Sox 23–4 0 2.07 313
2000 Pedro Martínez Boston Red Sox 18–6 0 1.74 284
2001 Roger Clemens New York Yankees 20–3 0 3.51 213
2002 Barry Zito Oakland Athletics 23–5 0 2.75 182
2003 Roy Halladay Toronto Blue Jays 22–7 0 3.25 204
2004 Johan Santana Minnesota Twins 20–6 0 2.61 265
2005 Bartolo Colón Los Angeles Angels 21–8 0 3.48 157
2006 Johan Santana Minnesota Twins 19–6 0 2.77 265
2007 CC Sabathia Cleveland Indians 19–7 0 3.21 209
2008 Cliff Lee Cleveland Indians 22–3 0 2.54 170
2009 Zack Greinke Kansas City Royals 16–8 0 2.16 242
2010 Félix Hernández Seattle Mariners 13–12 0 2.27 232
2011 Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers 24–5 0 2.40 250
2012 David Price Tampa Bay Rays 20–5 0 2.56 205
2013 Max Scherzer Detroit Tigers 21–3 0 2.90 240
2014 Corey Kluber Cleveland Indians 18–9 0 2.44 269
2015 Dallas Keuchel Houston Astros 20–8 0 2.48 216
2016 Rick Porcello Boston Red Sox 22–4 0 3.15 189
2017 Corey Kluber Cleveland Indians 18–4 0 2.25 265
2018 Blake Snell Tampa Bay Rays 21–5 0 1.89 221
2019 Justin Verlander Houston Astros 21–6 0 2.58 300
2020 Shane Bieber Cleveland Indians 8–1 0 1.63 122
2021 Robbie Ray Toronto Blue Jays 13–7 0 2.84 248
2022 ? ?

ListofCy Young Award winners in the National League

Year Pitcher Team Record Saves ERA K’s
1967 Mike McCormick San Francisco Giants 22–10 0 2.85 150
1968 Bob Gibson St. Louis Cardinals 22–9 0 1.12 268
1969 Tom Seaver New York Mets 25–7 0 2.21 208
1970 Bob Gibson St. Louis Cardinals 23–7 0 3.12 274
1971 Ferguson Jenkins Chicago Cubs 24–13 0 2.77 263
1972 Steve Carlton Philadelphia Phillies 27–10 0 1.98 310
1973 Tom Seaver New York Mets 19–10 0 2.08 251
1974 Mike Marshall Los Angeles Dodgers 15–12 21 2.42 143
1975 Tom Seaver New York Mets 22–9 0 2.38 243
1976 Randy Jones San Diego Padres 22–14 0 2.74 93
1977 Steve Carlton Philadelphia Phillies 23–10 0 2.64 198
1978 Gaylord Perry San Diego Padres 21–6 0 2.73 154
1979 Bruce Sutter Chicago Cubs 6–6 37 2.22 110
1980 Steve Carlton Philadelphia Phillies 24–9 0 2.34 286
1981 Fernando Valenzuela Los Angeles Dodgers 13–7 0 2.48 180
1982 Steve Carlton Philadelphia Phillies 23–11 0 3.11 286
1983 John Denny Philadelphia Phillies 19–6 0 2.37 139
1984 Rick Sutcliffe Chicago Cubs 16–1 0 2.69 155
1985 Dwight Gooden New York Mets 24–4 0 1.53 268
1986 Mike Scott Houston Astros 18–10 0 2.22 306
1987 Steve Bedrosian Philadelphia Phillies 5–3 40 2.83 74
1988 Orel Hershiser Los Angeles Dodgers 23–8 1 2.26 178
1989 Mark Davis San Diego Padres 4–3 44 1.85 92
1990 Doug Drabek Pittsburgh Pirates 22–6 0 2.76 131
1991 Tom Glavine Atlanta Braves 20–11 0 2.55 192
1992 Greg Maddux Chicago Cubs 20–11 0 2.18 199
1993 Greg Maddux Atlanta Braves 20–10 0 2.36 197
1994 Greg Maddux Atlanta Braves 16–6 0 1.56 156
1995 Greg Maddux Atlanta Braves 19–2 0 1.63 181
1996 John Smoltz Atlanta Braves 24–8 0 2.94 276
1997 Pedro Martínez Montreal Expos 17–8 0 1.90 305
1998 Tom Glavine Atlanta Braves 20–6 0 2.47 157
1999 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks 17–9 0 2.49 364
2000 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks 19–7 0 2.64 347
2001 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks 21–6 0 2.49 372
2002 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks 24–5 0 2.32 334
2003 Éric Gagné Los Angeles Dodgers 2–3 55 1.20 137
2004 Roger Clemens Houston Astros 18–4 0 2.98 218
2005 Chris Carpenter St. Louis Cardinals 21–5 0 2.83 213
2006 Brandon Webb Arizona Diamondbacks 16–8 0 3.10 178
2007 Jake Peavy San Diego Padres 19–6 0 2.54 240
2008 Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants 18–5 0 2.62 265
2009 Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants 15–7 0 2.48 261
2010 Roy Halladay Philadelphia Phillies 21–10 0 2.44 219
2011 Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers 21–5 0 2.28 248
2012 R. A. Dickey New York Mets 20–6 0 2.73 230
2013 Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers 16–9 0 1.83 232
2014 Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers 21–3 0 1.77 239
2015 Jake Arrieta Chicago Cubs 22–6 0 1.77 236
2016 Max Scherzer Washington Nationals 20–7 0 2.96 284
2017 Max Scherzer Washington Nationals 16–6 0 2.51 268
2018 Jacob deGrom New York Mets 10–9 0 1.70 269
2019 Jacob deGrom New York Mets 11–8 0 2.43 255
2020 Trevor Bauer Cincinnati Reds 5–4 0 1.73 100
2021 Corbin Burnes Milwaukee Brewers 11–5 0 2.43 234
2022 ? ?