Watching Sandy Alcantara this season is heartbreaking to say the least. After a stellar couple of seasons to start his career he put it all together in 2022. Receiving the prestigious Cy Young award, deservingly. He recorded a 14-9 record on a bad Miami team with an ERA of 2.28.
This season, the Marlins improved, however, Alcantara has taken a step back as far as his dominance goes. As of August 15th, 2023 he has a record of 5-10 and an ERA of 4.09.
This got me thinking, who are some other pitchers through out history who would win a Cy Young award and then have a fall off year?
Blake Snell – Cy Young Winner 2018
In 2018 Blake Snell was at the top of his game and considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. He was recognized for his first and to this date only Cy Young award after this 2018 season.
In 2018 he posted a record of 21-5 with an unbelievable ERA of 1.89 over 31 starts. In those 31 starts he pitched 180 innings, which is about 50 more innings then he has pitched in any other year of his career (this season looks like he will reach that number again).
The next season however Snell fell off a cliff. In 2019 he took the mound for 23 starts and his ERA ballooned to 4.29 as he posted a record of 6-8.
This season Snell is back in the Cy Young conversation with another brilliant season ERA wise, yet his Padres can not seem to get it going.
Dallas Keuchel – Cy Young Winner 2015
If you watched baseball even in the slightest manner from 2014-2019, you knew who Dallas Keuchel was. Weather it was for his pitching or his beard. He was making waves as the future face of not only the Astros, but the MLB as a whole.
In 2015 he reached the pinnacle, he was awarded a Cy Young award for his magic season. A record of 20-8 and an ERA of 2.48 over 33 starts made him the top dog that season.
However in 2016 he would have his first year of struggling on the mound, which would come to foreshadow his career moving forward. He went 9-12 over 26 starts posting a 4.55 ERA.
The weird thing about his career is that he would recover, or so we thought. In 2017 he would start 23 games, going 14-5 with an ERA of 2.90. Then he would struggle for two seasons.
In the shortened Covid year of 2020 he would post his best ERA, now with the White Sox, 1.99 over 11 starts, going 6-2.
We all know the downward spiral of his career after this, one of the saddest ways a Cy Young winner has gone out. Yet he is still fighting and bouncing around the league, most recently getting picked up by the Twins this season.
In doing research for this topic I found an amazing list already put together. For the rest of this list, I got a little help from thisgreatgame.com. Feel free to check out their article for the full list they have on the subject. I am focusing more on the pitchers since 2000, while the writers at “this great game” did a deep dive into the history books! It is a beautiful read to say the least.
Rick Porcello – Cy Young Winner 2016
Porcello has always been an up and down pitcher, never fully finding his groove. However, in 2016 he did just that, pitching to a tune of 22-4 over 33 starts with an ERA of 3.15.
Although he would have a few good seasons after this, the year immediately following it was not one. In 2017, Porcello struggled out of the gate and never found his Cy Young form. He went 11-17 and his ERA raised to 4.65.
He still started 33 games, and went deep in most of them, yet the magic just was not there any more. Weather it was the offense not helping him out of jams or just plain ol’ bad luck.
The story of both of these seasons back to back have completely different feelings.
Bartolo Colon – Cy Young Winner 2005
Your favorite pitchers favorite pitcher, the man with many nicknames, my favorite is “big sexy”, Bartolo Colon has had one of the more entertaining careers in the MLB. He pitched for close to 20 seasons for almost every team you can imagine.
Colon reached his peak in 2005 for the Angels of Anaheim, winning the Cy Young award. He posted a record of 21-8 over 33 starts putting up an ERA of 3.48. It would be in the postseason of this year that Colon obtained an injury he would not fully shake for close to 7 seasons.
In 2006 he tried to push through and play through a rotator cup injury. He was only able to take the mound for 10 starts that year. Going 1-5 with an ERA north of 5 at 5.11.
Colon would have many memorable moments in his career and became loved by fans worldwide. Yet, 2005 was special for him. A year where he truly reached the height of his potential and has the hardware to prove it.
Rowan Donaghey is a Sports and Betting insider for Stare Down Sports. You can follow him on twitter via @RowanDonaghey
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