Congratulations to Justin Verlander, best pitcher in the Lower House of the Major Leagues. I think most of us rooted for you and Leyland's Lads in the ALCS, but it didn't work out. A former Rookie of the Year (2006), Verlander has been in the Top 11 of BBWAA Cy Young voting four times previously. He achieved a new level of stardom this year as the consensus Cy Young winner, legitimate MVP candidate and internet meme.
A few other things I gleaned from the voting results, which NL SBNation blogs did not take part in: James Shields is the 4th best pitcher in the AL. That should make him the best pitcher in the NL Central by wide margin. The Angels have two very good pitchers. But they didn't make the playoffs. So that does that mean the Reds do not need James Shields after all? No, it doesn't. W
hat will it take to acquire James Shields?
| Num | Name | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Verlander | 22 | 2 | 212 | |||
| 2 | CC Sabathia | 2 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 160 | |
| 3 | Jered Weaver | 5 | 10 | 4 | 97 | ||
| 4 | James Shields | 3 | 8 | 6 | 45 | ||
| 5 | C.J. Wilson | 4 | 4 | 5 | 37 | ||
| 6 | Dan Haren | 3 | 5 | 4 | 34 | ||
| 7 | Josh Beckett | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 8 | David Price | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 9 | Jon Lester | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 10 | Brandon McCarthy | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 11 | Mariano Rivera | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 12 | Doug Fister | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 13 | Felix Hernandez | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 14 | Gio Gonzalez | 1 | 1 |