Phillies History: Taking a Look Back on Phillies Cy Young Winners

Awards will be far and few between the next few years for the Phillies, so let’s remember former players who brought home some hardware.

Few teams that go ten games under .500 like the Phillies in 2016 will rack up many awards. Mike Trout of the Angels was the first MVP winner on a losing team since Alex Rodriguez in 2003. Barring some incredible improvements from players in the organization – or an equally improbable trade for Trout – the Phillies won’t have a player of Trout’s caliber anytime soon.

For fans who may feel down about the Phillies’ future, just know that the team will rebound in time. The team will produce more award-winners, and they will make another run at the World Series.

Fond memories warm the soul, so let’s take a look back at the Phillies who filled their shelves with awards, starting with their Cy Young winners.

Four-Time Cy Young Winner Steve Carlton

Steve Carlton is one of, if not the, best pitchers in Phillies history. He is their career leader among all pitchers in Fangraphs wins above replacement and second to Robin Roberts in Baseball Reference WAR. He is the lone Phillies pitcher to win multiple Cy Young awards, racking up four in his tenure in Philadelphia.

Carlton’s first Cy Young came in 1972, his initial season in Philadelphia after being traded from St. Louis. That season was the best of his career by WAR standards, accumulating 11.1 fWAR and 12.1 rWAR that year. He led the National League in wins (27), ERA (1.97), starts (41), complete games (30), and strikeouts (310) that year.

Carlton was the unanimous winner of the award in ’72. He also earned his fourth All-Star appearance and finished fifth in NL MVP voting.

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Four years later in 1977, Carlton once again took home that honor. The only category he led the league in that year was wins, securing 23 that season. Carlton finished the year just sixth in fWAR. Despite trailing in most categories, Carlton still received 17 of 25 first-place votes and was on 87% of the ballots. Wins were the deciding factor for voters, something which likely wouldn’t have happened in today’s era.

1980 was the culmination of decades of toiling and suffering for Phillies fans, with Carlton playing no small part in bringing the team to a World Series championship. He finished the year with 24 wins in 38 starts. He led the league with 286 strikeouts as his 3.18 strikeout-to-walk ratio also led the league. While not created yet, Carlton finished with the best FIP and ERA+ that year.

Carlton received all but one first-place vote in 1980 for the Cy Young along with finishing fifth in MVP voting once again.

1982 was Carlton’s last hurrah before his magic started to run dry. In his age-37 season, he once again recorded the most strikeouts (286) as well as tallying 23 wins to lead the league for the last time in his career. He accumulated 8.2 fWAR that year, receiving 20 of 25 first-place votes for the award.

1983 Cy Young Winner John Denny

The Phillies had a Cy Young Award winner for the third time in four seasons in 1983, with John Denny taking home the award as opposed to Carlton. Carlton’s 16 losses left a sour taste in the voter’s mouths as he did not appear on his single ballot. However, Carlton actually led all pitchers in fWAR with 7.4 and came second in FIP with 2.65. If Carlton had a season like that now, he would certainly be a contender for the award.

Instead, Denny’s .760 win percentage led the league as he secured 19 wins that year. His 0.3 home runs per nine innings was Denny’s lone other league-leading stat.

Overall, Denny finished 1983 with a 2.37 ERA, seven complete games, including one shutout, just 53 walks in 242.2 innings, and a 1.162 WHIP.

Denny, a former Cardinal like Carlton, came over to the Phillies from Cleveland in 1982 in a midseason trade. He once led the league with a 2.52 ERA in 1976, but regressed the next few years. Denny finished with a four-plus ERA in five of the six seasons prior to his Cy Young campaign.

Denny put together another solid season in 1984 – he finished the season with a 149 ERA+ and 0.978 WHIP – but he fell back to earth in 1985. His final record that year was 11-14 as he posted a 3.82 ERA and 1.452 WHIP. The Phillies traded Denny to Cincinnati after the season, where he lasted just one year before hanging up his cleats.

1987 Cy Young Award Winner Steve Bedrosian

The Phillies brought home four of the Cy Young Awards handed out in the 1980s. Steve Bedrosian was the only reliever in Phillies history to win the Cy Young and is just one of nine relievers to ever win the award.

At age 29, Bedrosian led the major-leagues in saves with 40. That year, he went 40-for-48 in save opportunities, good for an 83.3% save percentage. Bedrosian finished the year with a 2.83 ERA and 1.202 WHIP in 65 appearances.

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Bedrosian won the award in a highly contested fashion. He received just nine of 24 first-place votes and appeared on just 48% of all ballots. Bedrosian wound up winning the award by just two points, with him, Rick Sutcliffe, and Rick Reuschel all finishing within three points of each other.

In 1987, Bedrosian was just two years removed from making 37 starts with the Braves. He started his career as a reliever, finishing 7th in Rookie of the Year voting in 1982. Atlanta experimented with Bedrosian as a full-time starter in 1985, finishing with his highest ERA in a full major-league season until 1990.

The Phillies then converted Bedrosian back to a reliever in 1986 after trading for him, where he served as the team’s closer until he was traded to the Giants in 1989.