The Cy Young Award, which honors the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, has been awarded since 1956. From 1956 to 1966, only one pitcher received the award each year, but since 1967, one pitcher from the American League and one from the National League have been honored annually. Let’s take a look at the list of Cy Young Award winners throughout the years.
Starting with the American League Cy Young winners, here are the pitchers who have received the award:
• Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees)
• Justin Verlander (Houston Astros)
• Robbie Ray (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians)
• Blake Snell (Tampa Bay Rays)
• Corey Kluber (Cleveland Indians)
• Rick Porcello (Boston Red Sox)
• Dallas Keuchel (Houston Astros)
• Max Scherzer (Detroit Tigers)
• David Price (Tampa Bay Rays)
• Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers)
• Felix Hernandez (Seattle Mariners)
• Zack Greinke (Kansas City Royals)
• Cliff Lee (Cleveland Indians/Philadelphia Phillies)
• CC Sabathia (Cleveland Indians/Milwaukee Brewers)
• Johan Santana (Minnesota Twins)
• Bartolo Colon (Los Angeles Angels)
• Roy Halladay (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Barry Zito (Oakland Athletics)
• Roger Clemens (New York Yankees)
• Pedro Martinez (Boston Red Sox)
• Pat Hentgen (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Randy Johnson (Seattle Mariners)
• David Cone (Kansas City Royals)
• Jack McDowell (Chicago White Sox)
• Dennis Eckersley (Oakland Athletics)
• Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox)
• Bob Welch (Oakland Athletics)
• Bret Saberhagen (Kansas City Royals)
• Frank Viola (Minnesota Twins)
• Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox)
• Willie Hernandez (Detroit Tigers)
• LaMarr Hoyt (Chicago White Sox)
• Pete Vuckovich (Milwaukee Brewers)
• Rollie Fingers (Milwaukee Brewers)
• Steve Stone (Baltimore Orioles)
• Mike Flanagan (Baltimore Orioles)
• Ron Guidry (New York Yankees)
• Sparky Lyle (New York Yankees)
• Jim Palmer (Baltimore Orioles)
• Catfish Hunter (Oakland Athletics)
• Gaylord Perry (Cleveland Indians)
• Vida Blue (Oakland Athletics)
• Jim Perry (Minnesota Twins)
• Mike Cuellar (Baltimore Orioles)
• Denny McLain (Detroit Tigers)
• Jim Lonborg (Boston Red Sox)
Moving on to the National League Cy Young winners, here are the pitchers who have received the award:
• Blake Snell (San Diego Padres)
• Sandy Alcantara (Miami Marlins)
• Corbin Burnes (Milwaukee Brewers)
• Trevor Bauer (Cincinnati Reds)
• Jacob deGrom (New York Mets)
• Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals)
• Jake Arrieta (Chicago Cubs)
• Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• R.A. Dickey (New York Mets)
• Roy Halladay (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Tim Lincecum (San Francisco Giants)
• Jake Peavy (San Diego Padres)
• Brandon Webb (Arizona Diamondbacks)
• Chris Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals)
• Eric Gagne (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks)
• Tom Glavine (Atlanta Braves)
• Pedro Martinez (Montreal Expos)
• John Smoltz (Atlanta Braves)
• Greg Maddux (Atlanta Braves)
• Doug Drabek (Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Mark Davis (San Diego Padres)
• Orel Hershiser (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Steve Bedrosian (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Mike Scott (Houston Astros)
• Dwight Gooden (New York Mets)
• Rick Sutcliffe (Chicago Cubs)
• John Denny (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Bruce Sutter (Chicago Cubs)
• Gaylord Perry (San Diego Padres)
• Randy Jones (San Diego Padres)
• Tom Seaver (New York Mets)
• Mike Marshall (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Fergie Jenkins (Chicago Cubs)
• Bob Gibson (St. Louis Cardinals)
• Don Drysdale (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Roger Clemens holds the record for the most Cy Young Awards with seven wins. He achieved this feat while playing for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros. Other pitchers who have won the award multiple times include Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Steve Carlton, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Pedro Martinez, Sandy Koufax, Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, Corey Kluber, Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Johan Santana, Tom Glavine, Bret Saberhagen, Gaylord Perry, Bob Gibson, and Denny McLain.
The youngest player to win the Cy Young Award was Dwight Gooden in 1985 when he was just 20 years old. On the other hand, the oldest player to win the award was Roger Clemens in 2004 at 42 years old. Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson share the record for the most consecutive Cy Young Awards, each winning four in a row. Maddux achieved this from 1992 to 1995, while Johnson accomplished it from 1999 to 2002.