Cole Finishes Runner-Up in 2019 AL Cy Young Voting
November 13, 2019 | Baseball
Former UCLA ace right-hander Gerrit Cole was the No. 2 finisher in 2019 American League Cy Young Award voting, it was announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWWA) on Wednesday.
Cole finished with 159 points, just 12 points behind Houston teammate Justin Verlander (171). Cole was placed either first or second on all 30 submitted ballots. This year marks the first time in the history of AL Cy Young voting that a pair of teammates finished first and second on the ballot.
The Santa Ana, Calif. native had a dominant season in 2019, posting a 20-5 record while leading the American League in both ERA (2.50) and strikeouts (326). His strikeout figure set a new Astros single season-season franchise record.
Cole missed bats at a historic rate, as his 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings set a new single-season MLB record, besting Randy Johnson's 2001 season (13.4). He also set a new MLB record by recording 10 or more strikeouts in his final nine starts of the regular season.
As a three-year rotation member at UCLA from 2009-11, Cole recorded a career 3.38 ERA with 376 strikeouts in 322 1/3 innings before being selected No. 1 overall by Pittsburgh in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He is the only pitcher in program history to record 100+ strikeouts in three individual seasons and still ranks second in UCLA history for career strikeouts.