Marlins Ace Sandy Alcantara Wins NL Cy Young Award by Unanimous Vote

As dominant a pitcher as he is, Sandy Alcántara’s best attribute is perhaps his ability to take the ball every turn through the rotation. So it’s only fitting that, when the voting results were revealed by the Baseball Writers Association of America for the National League Cy Young Award, the Marlins’ ace got every first-place vote.

Alcántara won the award by unanimous decision, becoming the first player in team history to take home the honor as the league’s best pitcher. Atlanta’s Max Fried finished second, while Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías came in third. Aaron Nola and Zac Gallen finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Alcántara led the majors with 228 2/3 innings this season and hasn’t missed a start in two years. He went 14–9 with a 2.28 ERA and 207 strikeouts, allowing two earned runs or fewer in 25 of his 32 outings.

He’s the first pitcher to win the NL Cy Young Award by unanimous vote since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 and the 12th overall. He’s also the third pitcher born in the Dominican Republic to win the Cy Young Award in either league, along with Pedro Martínez (1997, ’99 and ’00) and Bartolo Colón (’05).