On Wednesday, erstwhile Toronto Blue Jays lefty Robbie Ray was named the 2021 American League Cy Young award winner. He received 29 of 30 first-place votes — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole received the other — after leading the Junior Circuit in innings (193 1/3), ERA (2.84), ERA+ (154), WHIP (1.05), strikeouts (248), and WAR (6.7). A deserving Cy Young, through and through.
“It feels great to talk about it now that I’ve actually won the award,” Ray told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, after the Cy Young announcement. “I’m super excited and I’m just looking to build on it, honestly. To keep getting better every single day and push forward to even greater things.”
Ray picked an excellent time to have a Cy Young season. He is a free agent this offseason — our R.J. Anderson ranked him the top available starter — and is poised to cash in big. Ray is the ninth pitcher in history to win the Cy Young award heading into free agency and four of the previous eight changed teams in the offseason.
