Misery loves company: Keuchel isn’t only Cy Young winner who has struggled
The beard and No. 60 on the back of his jersey look familiar.
However, through the first two months of this season, it’s been a different Dallas Keuchel on the mound for the Astros.
Last year’s American League Cy Young Award winner has seen his numbers take a dramatic downturn this season.
Entering his scheduled start Saturday at the Los Angeles Angels, Keuchel is 2-6 with a 5.92 ERA in 10 starts. He hasn’t won a start since April 15 against Detroit at Minute Maid Park and his past seven starts have included five losses and two no-decisions.
During his Cy Young season in 2015, Keuchel went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA. He wasn’t handed his sixth loss until Aug. 7 last year.
As alarming as his decline has been, Keuchel is far from the only Cy Young winner to take a tumble the year after winning the award.
Here’s a look at some other Cy Young winners who went south the following season:
Corey Kluber, Indians
He went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts in 235.2 innings in 2014, and Sports Illustrated picked Cleveland to win the 2015 World Series. Kluber then imploded in 2015, going 9-16 with a 3.49 ERA.
R.A. Dickey, Mets/Blue Jays
The knuckleballer went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA and struck out 230 for the Mets in 2012. He was traded to Toronto in the offseason and dipped to 14-13 with a 4.21 in his return to the American League.
Barry Zito, Athletics
In 2002, the lefty was a dynamite 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA for the “Moneyball” era A’s before slipping to 14-12 with a 3.30 ERA the following year.
Bob Welch, Athletics
Welch went a mindboggling 27-6 with a 2.95 for the juggernaut A’s in 1990. He dipped dramatically in 1991 to a 12-13 record and 4.58 ERA. The righthander never won more than 12 games the rest of his career.
Bret Saberhagen, Royals
He twice struggled after winning the Cy Young. In 1985, Saberhagen went 20-6 with a 2.87 ERA for the World Series champion Royals, but slipped to 7-12 with a 4.15 ERA in 1986. He won the award again in 1989, going 23-6 with a 2.16 ERA to lead the AL in wins and ERA. But in 1990, he went 5-9 and had a 3.27 ERA while being limited to 20 starts because of an injury.
Frank Viola, Twins/Mets
The lefty known as “Sweet Music” went 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA for the Twins in 188. The next year, he was traded to the Mets after going 8-12 with a 3.79 in Minnesota. Viola finished the year 13-17 with a 3.66 ERA.
LaMarr Hoyt, White Sox
The righthander was 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA for the 1983 AL West champ White Sox. The next year, he cratered to 13-18 with a 4.47 ERA. He only pitched two more seasons before his career was derailed by drug arrests.
Steve Stone, Orioles
After never winning more than 15 games in his first nine seasons, Stone was 25-7 with a 3.23 ERA for the 1980 Orioles. In 1981, he was 4-7 with a 4.60 ERA while being bothered by tendinitis and retired at age 34.
Mike Flanagan, Orioles
He went 23-9 with a 3.08 ERA in 1979 for an Orioles squad that won the AL East and blew a 3-1 lead in the World Series against the Pirates. The lefty followed that by going 16-13, with his ERA ballooning to 4.12.
Randy Jones, Padres
He went 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA and 25 complete games for the 1976 Padres. But in 1977, Jones dropped to 6-12 with a 4.57 ERA and only went the distance once.