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Encore performance Martinez favored to win second consecutive Cy Young
NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Boston Red Sox right-hander Pedro Martinez, regarded as baseball's best pitcher, is the odds-on favorite to capture his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award on Monday. The most dominant pitcher in the game over the last four years, Martinez also captured the National League Cy Young Award while with Montreal in 1997. Only Roger Clemens of the New York Yankees (5) and Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves (4) have captured the award more times. Martinez would join Hall of Famers Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Jim Palmer and Sandy Koufax as three-time winners. A unanimous winner in 1999, Martinez could lose votes this time around to Toronto Blue Jays lefthander David Wells or Oakland Athletics righthander Tim Hudson, the league's only 20-game winners. Yankees lefthander Andy Pettitte, who won 19 games for the three-time defending world champions, also is likely to receive consideration. But there is no mistaking that Martinez is the most feared and respected pitcher in the game. The 29-year-old righthander was 18-6 with a career-low 1.74 ERA in 29 starts. He allowed just 128 hits and 32 walks in 217 innings, struck out 284 and tossed four shutouts.
Martinez deserves the award because his ERA was actually less than half that of his nearest competitor, Clemens (3.70). The anchor of Boston's erratic staff, Martinez lost only when the Red Sox did not score. In his six defeats, Boston managed just seven runs. Born in the Dominican Republic, Martinez is one of just three pitchers to win the award in both leagues. Randy Johnson of Arizona won in 1999 after taking AL honors in 1995 with Seattle. Gaylord Perry won for Cleveland in 1972 and San Diego in 1978. Wells, the starting pitcher for the AL in the All-Star Game, went 20-8 but had a 4.11 ERA and allowed 266 hits in 229 2/3 innings. In his defense, Wells got much more offensive support than Martinez and often pitched to his healthy leads. Hudson made up ground on Martinez with a fabulous stretch run in which he went 7-0 with a 1.16 ERA. The 25-year-old finished 20-6 with a 4.14 ERA in 33 games. Pettitte was 19-9 with a 4.35 ERA for a team that won only 87 games. He had a winning record in every month except April, when he was limited to two starts by injury. On a staff with Clemens, Orlando Hernandez, Denny Neagle and David Cone, Pettitte was the Yankees' most reliable arm from start to finish. Two writers from each AL city vote for the award at the end of the regular season and balloting is tabulated on a 5-3-1 basis.
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
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