Oakland Athletics’ Sonny Gray Is Deserving of Cy Young Award
By Nick Matt
Oakland Athletics’ Down Year Shouldn’t Remove Sonny Gray From Cy Young Talk
Even though the Oakland Athletics are having a very disappointing season, there has been a bright spot: ace starting pitcher Sonny Gray. Gray is in the top five in almost every major pitching category, and if the Athletics had any kind of reliable offense, Gray would probably have zero losses on the season.
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The Vanderbilt product and 2011 first-round pick has made a name for himself as one of the best in the league. Gray earned the teams trust when Bob Melvin slotted him in to pitch Game Two of the first round of the playoffs in 2013 against a potent Tigers’ offense in his rookie campaign. The Oakland Athletics were down 0-1 in the series, desperately needing a win. That’s when A’s fans knew that this kid might be something special. He threw eight scoreless innings and kept that intimidating Tigers’ offense guessing all game.
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In a post-game interview, legendary Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland said:
"“He was everything as advertised: a good live fastball, 94, 95, 93, 96, coupled with an electric curveball. He was terrific.”"
Gray isn’t physically opposing. but this guy can deal and pitch against the best of them, and he can stand in there and be mentioned with the best pitchers pitching today. Gray never backs down from anybody.
There is no other pitcher in the American League that has separated themselves from the pack, therefore, the Cy Young competition is wide open. Gray out dueled fellow-candidate and Astros ace Dallas Keuchel on Friday night, with a complete game as the A’s won 3-1.
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Gray ranks first in many pitching categories including first in ERA, at 2.06. Imagine how many wins he’d have if the Oakland Athletics had a better bullpen and defense. He is also number one in fewest hits allowed per nine innings. Gray is tied for first in games started, so he is very durable and manages to stay healthy and takes care of himself. He is second in complete games, with 3. More impressively, he had those three complete games in his last six starts, and he is also tied for first in shutouts, with two. His season up to this point has been nothing short of amazing, and Gray needs to get the recognition he deserves.
It shouldn’t matter how bad the team’s record is — with numbers like Gray is putting up, there is no question he deserves to be in the conversation for the Cy Young award! Sonny Gray is on top of his game right now, and hopefully, the voters are beginning to recognize him as an established number-one pitcher so that he can bring home the coveted hardware at the end of the year. Gray is absolutely the American League’s top pitcher.