MLB
Scores
Schedule
Pitching Probables
Standings
Statistics
Players
Transactions
Injuries: AL | NL
Minor Leagues
MLB en espanol
Message Board
CLUBHOUSE


FEATURES
News Wire
Daily Glance
Power Alley
History
MLB Insider


THE ROSTER
Jim Caple
Peter Gammons
Rob Neyer
John Sickels
Jayson Stark
ESPN MALL
TeamStore
ESPN Auctions
SPORT SECTIONS
Sunday, November 14
Updated: November 15, 7:48 PM ET
 
Johnson wins his second Cy Young

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Randy Johnson became only the second pitcher to win Cy Young Award in both leagues, beating out Houston's Mike Hampton on Monday in the National League vote.

NL Cy Young balloting
Voting results from the Baseball Writers Association of America, with first-, second- and third-place votes and total points on a 5-3-1 basis:
Pitcher 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Johnson, Ari. 20 11 1 134
Hampton, Hou. 11 17 4 110
Millwood, Atl. 1 4 19 36
Lima, Hou. -- -- 3 3
Wagner, Hou. -- -- 3 3
Brown, L.A. -- -- 1 1
Hoffman, S.D. -- -- 1 1

Johnson, a 6-foot-10 left-hander for the Arizona Diamondbacks, led the league in ERA and led the major leagues in strikeouts.

The "Big Unit" received 20 first-place votes, 11 seconds and one third for 134 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

"I'd like to think this award isn't solely based on wins and losses," said Johnson, 17-9 with a 2.48 ERA. "There was a lot more to the season I had than wins and losses. Quite honestly, I feel still this was the best year I had in my career."

Johnson, who led the NL in complete games with 12, had 364 strikeouts in 271 2/3 innings. He finished 19 strikeouts short of the strikeout record set by Nolan Ryan in 1973, winding up with the fourth-highest single-season total.

Johnson struck out 10 or more 23 times, matching the record Ryan set with the California Angels in 1973.

In seven of Johnson's losses, Arizona scored two runs or fewer, including a stretch in which the Diamondbacks were shut out in four straight starts of his. He had a 1.41 ERA in those games.

Johnson vs. Hampton
With apologies to Kevin Millwood, a look at the numbers for Randy Johnson and Mike Hampton:
  Johnson Hampton
W-L 17-9 22-4
ERA 2.48 2.90
IP 271.2 239
Hits 207 206
BB 70 101
SO 364 177
CG 12 3
Opp. Avg. .208 .241
Opp. Slg. .335 .324
Run Support 5.13 6.78

"I didn't dwell on it," Johnson said. "There were a few players who came up during the course of the year and said I handled myself pretty well. That meant more than any win I could have had."

Hampton, who went 22-4 and led the NL in wins, was second with 11 first-place votes, 17 seconds and four thirds for 110 points. Atlanta's Kevin Millwood was third with one first, four seconds and 18 thirds for 36 points.

"I don't think the voters could have gone wrong picking either of the three," Johnson said.

Johnson, 36, joined Gaylord Perry as the only pitchers to win Cy Youngs in each league. Johnson won the AL Cy Young with Seattle in 1995. Perry won with Cleveland in 1972 and with San Diego in 1978.

Johnson became only the second pitcher since 1991 to break the hold on the award by Atlanta's Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. After winning for Chicago in 1992, Maddux won the next three for the Braves; Glavine won in 1991 and 1998, and Smoltz won in 1996.

Interrupting their run was Pedro Martinez, who won it for Montreal in 1997 and is expected to become the third two-league winner when the AL voting is announced Tuesday.




 More from ESPN...
Neyer: Win Shares
Bill James has another new ...
Cy Young Award winners

McKeon named NL Manager of the Year for Reds' revival

Reds reliever Williamson named NL Rookie of Year

Mets, Braves each snare a pair of NL Gold Gloves


AUDIO/VIDEO
Video
 Randy Johnson wins NL Cy Young
Randy Johnson talks about his second Cy Young.


 Johnson can improve
Randy Johnson says there's always room for improvement.
wav: 163 k | Listen

 MLB
Randy Johnson says he tried to led by example.
wav: 266 k | Listen



 ESPN Tools
Email story
 
Most sent
 
Print story
 
Daily email