FanSided Announces MLB Pitcher of the Year Awards

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In the fourth of FanSided’s yearly award presentations, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been named the National League Pitcher of the Year.  The announcement was first made over at our flagship site, Call to the Pen, where you can check out the voting totals of the FanSided MLB staff members and see the articles regarding the official award presentations (Click here for NL and here for AL).

Clayton Kershaw faced little competition for the award in the NL, and the same can be said for his AL counterpart Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. That’s not to say that there weren’t other pitchers who put together great seasons, but it just goes to show just how much better Kershaw and Verlander were than the rest of the field. Jered Weaver of the Angels and C.C. Sabathia of the Yankees were next in line after Verlander, while Phillies pitchers Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee rounded out the top three on the other side. My ballot consisted of Kershaw, Halladay, and Ian Kennedy.

The 23-year-old Kershaw established himself as the best lefty in baseball in his fourth big league season. He captured the pitching Triple Crown, leading the NL in wins (21), ERA (2.28), and strikeouts (248). The more I watch this guy pitch, the more I’m convinced that multiple Cy-Young Awards are in his future. Kershaw’s stuff is simply electric for a team that is anything but.

Stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of the top players of the 2011 MLB season, the final award to be handed out.

In case you missed the previous award winners:

NL Manager of the Year

AL Manager of the Year

NL Rookie of the Year

AL Rookie of the Year

NL Reliever of the Year

AL Reliever of the Year

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