Dominant Bieber and Bauer win Cy Young Awards
“Nobody’s more deserving of it than him, and he knows what he wants and he knows how to go out and get it.” Shane Bieber, Cleveland pitcher, on NL Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer
Shane Bieber and Trevor Bauer love to talk pitching. They bonded as teammates with the Cleveland Indians, and stayed in touch after Bauer was traded to the Cincinnati Reds last year.
Bieber got a text from Bauer before this season started. The righthanders had the same Las Vegas odds for the Cy Young Award.
“I said … why don’t we go 2for2, or something like that?” Bieber said.
Why not, indeed. Bieber was a unanimous winner in the American League on Wednesday, and Bauer became the first pitcher to take home the NL honor for the majors’ oldest franchise.
“Nobody’s more deserving of it than him, and he knows what he wants and he knows how to go out and get it,” Bieber said. “And we keep in touch. I was truly pulling for him and you know, so is my family. And I know he feels the same way, so it’s special.”
Bieber and Bauer, two California natives, made it an Ohio sweep on the mound in 2020. They are the third pair of former teammates to win Cy Young Awards in the same season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Greg Maddux and Dennis Eckersley in 1992 and Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello in 2016 also accomplished the feat.
Bieber and Bauer had neighboring lockers in Cleveland. “We’ve had a close relationship since then,” Bauer said. “I think he’s one of the best human beings that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in professional baseball.
“We talked a little bit throughout the year about how cool would it be to have exteammates win the award together, and here we are. So I’m really happy for him.”
Using a versatile repertoire that includes a looping curveball and wipeout slider, Bieber went 81 with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 771⁄ innings
3 during the pandemic shortened season, leading the majors in ERA and strikeouts and tying Cubs righthander Yu Darvish for most wins.
Bieber became the second man in Indians history to win the AL’s pitching Triple Crown, joining Hall of Famer Bob Feller in 1940. Bieber, 25, also was the first pitcher to lead the majors in all three categories since Johan Santana for Minnesota in 2006.
Bauer went 54 with an NLbest 1.73 ERA in 11 starts, helping the Reds reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Animated on the field and outspoken off it, the 29yearold righthander struck out 100 in 73 innings and led the majors with two shutouts, in seveninning doubleheader games.
Darvish finished second in NL voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The Mets’ Jacob deGrom was third, falling short in his bid for a third consecutive Cy Young Award.
Bieber was the first unanimous American League winner since Justin Verlander for the Tigers in 2011. It was the 10th time an AL pitcher was listed first on every ballot.
Minnesota righthander Kenta Maeda was the AL runnerup, followed by Toronto lefty Hyun Jin Ryu.
The BBWAA will announce the MVPs on Thursday.
Bieber, a walkon at UC Santa Barbara, was selected by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2016 amateur draft. He made his majorleague debut in 2018 and went 115 with a 4.55 ERA. He really started to show off his potential last year, winning the MVP award at the AllStar Game and finishing with 15 wins and a 3.28 ERA.
It’s the first Cy Young Award for Bauer, who tied for sixth in the AL voting in 2018 after he went 126 with a 2.21 ERA for the Indians. He was traded to Cincinnati in a threeteam deal at last year’s deadline that moved Yasiel Puig to Cleveland.
Bauer struggled after he was acquired by the Reds, going 25 with a 6.39 ERA in 10 starts. He was hampered by a right ankle injury that affected him for much of the year. But he returned to form when this season finally started in July.
Bauer allowed just two runs and eight hits in 261⁄ innings
3 over his first four starts. He also closed out the season with a flourish, recording a 1.29 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 35 innings over five September starts.
“The biggest deal this year is I was just healthy,” he said. “I was able to go out there and compete, be on a routine.”