Toronto Blue Jays: Robbie Ray Wins the AL Cy Young Award

Southpaw Robbie Ray became the fourth different pitcher in Blue Jays history to win the Cy Young Award and the fifth time the award has been won by a Toronto player.

The announcement came out earlier this evening, with the results showing that Ray collected 29 out of a possible 30 first-place votes, along with one second-place vote.  New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole received the other first-place vote while collecting the remaining 29 second-place votes.

Ray had a career season that saw him lead the AL in ERA (2.84), innings pitched (193.1), strike outs (248), and WHIP (1.045) while posting a 13-7 win-loss record.  Each category except wins marked personal bests for the now 30-year old left-handed hurler.

Ray became the Blue Jays first pitcher to win since Roy Halladay took home the award back in 2003 and also joins the clubs first-time winner Pat Hentgen (1996) and two-time winner Roger Clemens (1997 and 1998) as Cy Young winners in franchise history.

Ray did have an All-Star season back in 2017 that saw him receive some voter points for the Cy Young, however, it appeared he was slowly declining each season since, including a 6.62 ERA and 1.897 WHIP in 2020.  What made the big difference for Ray in 2021 was his control on his pitches as he was able to drop his walks per nine innings down by roughly two points during the season from his career average.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Robbie Ray takes home the 2021 AL Cy Young Award, the fifth time and fourth pitcher to do so in the franchise’s history.

The news came hours after Ray officially turned down the $18.4 million qualifying offer (QO) from the club.  The Blue Jays offering of the QO was just a formality to get a compensation pick if Ray signs elsewhere as it was fully expected it would be turned down.  Ray is expected to sign a multi-year deal north of $100 million during free agency, but the Blue Jays are still in the running as of right now.

The acquisition by Ross Atkins at the 2020 trade deadline and the one-year extension could go down as one of the top moves in club history.  Atkins acquired Ray from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Travis Bergen (who signed back with the club months later).  Ray quickly re-signed back after the season ended on a one-year $8 million deal for 2021.

What could get Blue Jays fans even more excited is if the Tennessee-born pitcher puts pen to paper over the next couple of days to return to the Blue Jays.

Where do you rank this season compared to the previous Cy Young seasons by Blue Jays pitchers?