Stats: The Universal LanguageZack Greinke won the ALCY today in somewhat of a landslide over second place Felix Hernandez. Although I predicted Greinke to win easily (see below), the winning margin was even greater than I expected. What makes it historical? Well, that’s easy.
Never before has a pitcher won the ALCY with less than 18 victories in a complete season… until now (16). There had never been a pitcher rank lower than fourth in victories… until now (tied for 7th). There has never been a pitcher win the ALCY when his team won less than 72 games… until now (65). The fact that all of them are true at the same time - along with the fact that Greinke got 25 of 28 first place votes is remarkable. But, it also means the ALCY voting has permanently moved into a new era – one where the success of the team is no longer considered critical.
THE VOTING
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | |
| Greinke | 25 | 3 | 0 | 134 |
| Hernandez | 2 | 23 | 1 | 80 |
| Verlander | 1 | 0 | 9 | 14 |
| Sabathia | 0 | 2 | 7 | 13 |
| Halladay | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 |
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MY PREDICTION
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | |
| Greinke | 18 | 8 | 2 | 116 |
| Hernandez | 10 | 11 | 2 | 85 |
| Sabathia | 0 | 9 | 17 | 44 |
| Others | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
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FORMER ROYALS WINNERS
Cone’s season was strike-shortened, so I projected his numbers.
| ALCY | Year | ERA | SO | HR/9 | Rec. |
| Saberhagen | 1985 | 2.87 | 158 | .73 | 20-6 |
| Saberhagen | 1989 | 2.16 | 193 | .45 | 23-6 |
| Cone | 1994 | 2.34 | 186 | .79 | 23-7 |
| Greinke | 2009 | 2.16 | 246 | .43 | 16-8 |
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GREINKE’S FINAL PLACE IN HISTORY
The last pitcher to have 242+ strike outs, a 2.16 (or less) ERA and .44 (or less) home runs per 9 innings pitched was Pedro Martinez in 1999. Even more amazing, it has only happened five times in the majors since 1970.
| Pitcher | Year | ERA | SO | HR/9 | Rec. |
| Martinez | 1999 | 2.07 | 313 | .38 | 23-4 |
| Clemens | 1997 | 2.05 | 292 | .31 | 21-7 |
| Gooden | 1985 | 1.53 | 268 | .42 | 24-4 |
| Guidry | 1978 | 1.74 | 248 | .43 | 25-3 |
| Carlton | 1972 | 1.97 | 310 | .44 | 27-10 |
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Each were unanimous Cy Young winners except for Clemens who had 25/28 first place votes – the same as Greinke.
UFR’s GREINKE WATCH
October 23: Sabes vs Greinke: Part II by Jonathan Tucker
October 16: Sabes vs Greinke: Part I by Martin Manley
October 9: Greinke vs Hernandez: My Vote
October 8: Royally Screwed: Part II
October 7: GREINKE: The Royals and the ALCY: Part II
October 6: GREINKE: What hasn’t yet been said.
September 18: GREINKE: Lowering the ERA
September 12: GREINKE: Some Cool Stuff
September 6: GREINKE: If not for bad luck…
September 5: GREINKE: Can He Keep Pace Tonight?
September 2: GREINKE: 18W = ALCY
August 30: GREINKE: 1 down, 5 to go
August 30: The Cy Young: Greinke vs The Field: Part 3
August 29: The Cy Young: What will it take to win it? Part 2

I like the way you take credit for predicting the outcome after vehemently stating that you felt there was no way he could win with 16 wins in previous posts. From the August 28th post, "As I already stated, he absolutely must win six games in his next seven starts – beginning with today IMO." Of course Zach won only 4 of those 7 starts.
I like your humility, "There are few people in the world who understand or interpret sports statistical data as well as I do. Apart from Bill James, the only person who I have ever known who is remotely similar is my blog partner – Bradford Doolittle." I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I do know that I shouldn't read the drivel you post.