Who Deserves the 2009 NL Cy Young Award?

The 2009 National League Cy Young race is anLouis who came back from a two year hiatus
interesting situation. There are at least twothat saw him sidelined with injury.
pitchers who make definitive cases for theLet's take a look at some quick stats to see who
coveted award, and choosing the winner will be adeserves the award.
difficult decision for those forced to vote.As far as Lincecum is concerned, he was
There were some exceptional pitchingmagnificent in 2009. A 15-7 record, a 2.48 ERA,
performances in the National League in 2009. Itand 261 strikeouts (best in the league) in 225.1
can be argued that at least 4 or 5 pitchers wouldinnings pitched were all phenomenal. He was
have won it hands down in seasons past had theylargely responsible for San Francisco's first winning
had these seasons then. Some of the bestseason in years.
pitchers this past season included the likes ofHow about Carpenter though? Having missed two
Adam Wainwright, Jair Jurrjens, Clayton Kershaw,seasons in a row, he came back and was better
and Matt Cain. Not to mention many others.than ever. With an NL best 2.24 earned run
At the end of the day though, the best pitchingaverage, and NL best 1.01 WHIP, and a 17-4
was hands down performed by Tim Lincecum,win-loss record, Carpenter was as good as it gets.
the young hurler with the San Francisco Giants,Who deserves it though? Well, that's all up to the
and Chris Carpenter, the veteran ace pitcher in St.voters.