Over the years in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies franchise, there have been many elite pitchers that have suited up for them. Whether they were starting pitchers, relievers, or even a combination of both, they managed to leave a lasting mark during their tenure with the organization.
But as great as they were during their time in Philadelphia, how many of them have actually been successful in capturing the Cy Young Award in a Phillies uniform, since the award's inception back in 1956?
Every Phillies Cy Young Award winner in franchise history
Believe it or not, despite the over 68 years of existence of the Cy Young Award, the Phillies have had only four players with the distinguished honor of holding the title.
Roy Halladay, 2010
As the only Phillie this century to have captured a Cy Young Award, the late Roy Halladay accomplished the feat in 2010. That turned out to be quite the first impression with his new club. After all, Halladay had just joined the Phillies for his first season after coming over in a blockbuster trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.
During that 2010 season, "Doc" recorded a league-high 21 wins, along with nine complete games and four shutouts. On top of that, Halladay posted a stellar 2.44 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with just 30 walks and 219 strikeouts in a league-leading 250 2/3 innings pitched — he was practically unstoppable.
Just for good measure, he also threw his first-ever perfect game in May of 2010 and became just the second pitcher in MLB history to toss a no-hitter during the postseason that very same year. With accomplishments like that, there wouldn’t be any pitcher who would top him in 2010. He won the NL Cy Young Award unanimously that season with 32 first-place votes.
Steve Bedrosian, 1987
In 1987, Steve Bedrosian became one of only nine relievers in MLB history to date to have won the Cy Young Award. After coming over as a starter from the Atlanta Braves via trade during the 1985-86 offseason, the Phillies moved Bedrosian permanently to the bullpen to start the 1986 season.
From there, he grew drastically in his game as a reliever, leading up to his impressive 1987 season in which he led the entire league with 40 saves. In total, Bedrosian compiled a 5-3 record with a 2.83 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 74 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched over 65 appearances.
However, competition was stiff that year as he wasn’t a clear-cut winner. In one of the closest voting in MLB history, Bedrosian just barely edged out starters Rick Sutcliffe and Rick Reuschel for the award.
John Denny, 1983
As one of the more surprising winners in Phillies history, John Denny captured the title in his first full season with Philadelphia in 1983. Denny joined the Phillies in 1982 following a late-season trade with the Cleveland Indians.
What was surprising about his feat was the fact that in his four seasons prior, Denny never managed to post an ERA under 4.00 in three of those years, along with having a WHIP consistently above 1.40 and a cumulative losing record of 32-36.
However, in 1983, Denny miraculously put together the best numbers of his career, amassing an impressive 19-6 record with seven complete games, along with a 2.37 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, yielding only nine home runs all season in 242 2/3 innings pitched over 36 starts. In doing so, he helped fuel the Phillies to a successful campaign, reaching the World Series but just coming up short against the Baltimore Orioles.
Steve Carlton, 1972, 1977, 1980, 1982
Finally, we have the king of them all, Steve Carlton. Not only did he win the Cy Young Award as a Phillie, but he managed to do it on four separate occasions: in 1972, 1977, 1980 and once more in 1982. His four wins tie him with Greg Maddux for third on the all-time list, one behind Randy Johnson with five wins and three behind the leader Roger Clemens, who accomplished it a whopping seven times.
Carlton was so dominant for the Phillies over an entire decade between 1972 to 1984 that he easily could have had more added to his resume. His best Cy Young season came in 1972 when he recorded personal bests in wins (27), ERA (1.97), WHIP (0.99), FIP (2.01), complete games (30), innings pitched (346 1/3) and strikeouts (310).
With a career record of 241-161, a 3.09 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, along with 3,031 strikeouts in 3,697 1/3 innings pitched as a Phillie, he's no doubt the franchise’s best starting pitcher of all time. More importantly, Carlton helped propel the Phillies into becoming a perennial contender from 1976 to 1983, with Philadelphia finally capturing their first-ever World Series title in 1980.