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Is the Cy Young Award Losing Its Meaning? Let's Discuss the New Norms in Pitching!

Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 11:13 am
by UltimateFan
The evolution of pitching in Major League Baseball has taken a fascinating turn, especially when we consider the recent Cy Young discussions. Remember when Blake Snell won the award in 2018 with just 180 2/3 innings? Fast forward to 2024, and we have Paul Skenes potentially finishing third in the Cy Young voting with only 133 innings pitched. This raises some intriguing questions about the future of pitching and the criteria we use to evaluate it.

Is it time to redefine what it means to be a Cy Young candidate? With the increasing prevalence of workload restrictions and injuries, are we witnessing a shift in the value placed on quantity versus quality? Skenes' impressive 1.96 ERA and high strikeout rate challenge the traditional notion that a pitcher must log 200 innings to be considered elite.

What do you think? Should we embrace this new era of pitching where fewer innings can still yield exceptional performance? Or do you believe that the historical benchmarks for awards like the Cy Young should remain intact?

Additionally, with the emergence of relievers like Emmanuel Clase making a splash in the Cy Young conversation, could we see a future where closers are regularly recognized alongside starting pitchers?

Let’s dive into this debate! Share your thoughts on the changing landscape of pitching, your predictions for future Cy Young races, and any experiences you have with the evolving strategies in baseball. Are we witnessing the dawn of a new era in how we evaluate pitching talent?