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PITTSBURGH— Could Jose Fernandez win the Cy Young Award posthumously?
In the emotional aftermath of the young Miami Marlins pitcher’s death over the weekend, a public discussion has begun over the possible impact on the National League Cy Young race. ESPN’s Buster Olney went so far Tuesday as to suggest Fernandez could win over such frontrunners as theWashington Nationals’ Max Scherzer and the Cubs’ Jon Lester and KyleHendricks, in part because of the weight of the moment as voters fill out five- man ballots that must be submitted in less than a week.
The voting panel is made up of two voters from each of the 15 cities in the NL.
“It means nothing, I can tell you that, to Lester or me, over the life he lived,” Hendricks said. “Just thinking about him as a person and his life is really where we’re all at. The NL Cy Young and those things — it really means nothing at the end of the day.”
Fernandez, 24, was one of three men killed when his boat crashed into a jetty near Miami early Sunday morning.
“Obviously, everybody’s very emotional right now,” Lester said Tuesday. “He’s one of our baseball brothers that was unfortunately taken way too soon in his career, and his life, and his family’s life. One night, an accident, and he’s gone.”
Fernandez, who likely would have made two more starts this season, is deserving of Cy Young consideration regardless of any added voter sentiment. He was 16- 8 with a 2.86 ERA and 253 strikeouts and was themajor- league pitching leader in wins above replacement ( WAR) on Fangraphs. com. ( He doesn’t make the top 10 in that category on Baseball- reference. com).
“Whoever wins that award I’m sure is very deserving,” Lester said. “If they vote for him and he wins it, he’s very deserving of it. If they vote for Scherzer or Kyle or me, or whatever, I would imagine the voters take those votes very seriously and weigh all their options. I don’t think anybody that is up there on the No. 1 spot is anything but deserving of it.”
Soler still sore
Jorge Soler, who left a game more than a week ago because of soreness in his right side, remains bothered enough by it that he stayed back in Chicago for a secondMRI exam this week.
The results showed “no abnormalities,” the team said, and Soler is expected to rejoin the team on the final road trip this week.
Manager JoeMaddon said the Cubs aren’t concerned about Soler’s fitness for the playoffs. Game 1 of the NL Division Series is Oct. 7.
Time to pay up
As of Tuesday afternoon, Kris Bryant still hadn’t paid Chris Coghlan for reaching baseMonday night to eventually become Bryant’s 100th RBI ( on a two- run homer).
“But I still will,” said Bryant, who had promised Coghlan all the money in Bryant’s wallet if he came through. On Tuesday, Bryant said he’ll give Coghlan all of his meal money for the seven- game road trip ( more than $ 600).
“RBIs are my favorite stat,” Bryant said.