Who Should Have Won The Cy Young In The 2000s - NL Edition

There are many conversations about old MLB voting systems and how certain players should have won more awards. The Cy Young Award was hurt by these old systems especially though, having wins as a main factor in who would win it. The question is, did this voting change who would've won the Cy Young in a modern context? This article will go year by year and determine if they picked the right guy to win the elusive Cy Young.

1. Randy Johnson (2000-2002)

2000 Winner: Randy Johnson - 248.2 IP - 2.64 ERA - 347 SO - 181 ERA+ Modern Winner: Randy Johnson - 248.2 IP - 2.64 ERA - 347 SO - 181 ERA+ 2001 Winner: Randy Johnson - 249.2 IP - 2.49 ERA - 372 SO - 188 ERA+ Modern Winner: Randy Johnson - 249.2 IP - 2.49 ERA - 372 SO - 188 ERA+ 2002 Winner: Randy Johnson - 260 IP - 2.32 ERA - 334 SO - 195 ERA+

Modern Winner: Randy Johnson - 260 IP - 2.32 ERA - 334 SO - 195 ERA+

To start the decade the voters went on a hot streak like Randy Johnson. In 2000, Johnson easily outclassed his competition in Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. He had more than double Glavine's strikeouts and a significantly lower ERA than both. His biggest competition in modern times would've been Dodgers ace Kevin Brown, with more than 200 strikeouts and the ERA Title.

In 2001, Johnson took his game to the next level with 372 strikeouts and an ERA Title with a mark of 2.49. His biggest competitor for this award was his teammate Curt Schilling who also had a stellar 2001 season en route to the Diamondbacks winning the World Series. Johnson was the best pitcher in the world during the season and nobody was particularly close.

2002 would be another amazing season for Johnson as he had his best ERA and ERA+ in this stretch. Once again, Curt Schilling was his biggest opponent for the Cy Young but Johnson blew him out during voting. Johnson won unanimously again to win his 3rd straight Cy Young and go down as one of the best pitchers in history. Johnson would win all three Cy Youngs in modern voting as his production transcends eras.

2. Mark Prior (2003)

2003 Winner: Eric Gagne - 82.1 IP - 1.20 ERA - 137 SO - 337 ERA+ Modern Winner: Mark Prior - 211.1 IP - 2.43 ERA - 245 SO - 179 ERA+

Eric Gagne won the 2003 Cy Young after converting every one of his 55 save attempts during the season. He would not have won this award in the modern era due to being a relief pitcher. Relief pitchers don't win this award now because they don't pitch more than 100 innings making them less valuable than starters. Mark Prior would likely win nowadays due to his low ERA and elite strikeout numbers for the Cubs that season. Prior had a short window of being good so this award would have been a good confidence boost for him despite being a one-year wonder.

3. Randy Johnson (2004)

2004 Winner: Roger Clemens - 214.1 IP - 2.98 ERA - 218 SO - 145 ERA+ Modern Winner: Randy Johnson - 245.1 IP - 2.60 ERA - 290 SO - 176 ERA+

2004 was a down year by Johnson's standards but he still deserved the Cy Young. Roger Clemens had a good year for the Houston Astros but his numbers are nowhere near as good as Johnson's. Clemens won mainly because of his pitching record being 18-4 while Johnson's was 16-14. Johnson would take home the award in modern voting because of his stellar strikeout number and lower ERA.

4. Roger Clemens (2005)

2005 Winner: Chris Carpenter - 241.2 IP - 2.98 ERA - 213 SO - 150 ERA+ Modern Winner: Roger Clemens - 211.1 IP - 1.87 ERA - 185 SO - 226 ERA+

There is a good argument that Carpenter was the third-best NL pitcher in 2005. Dontrelle Willis also could have been considered, since he posted similar numbers to Carpenter. Moving on to Clemens, he had an elite season with the Astros easily outclassing Carpenter. He lost this season because of pitcher wins which might be karma for his win over Randy Johnson in 2004 because of the same stat. In the current MLB, there is zero chance Clemens wouldn't take home the 2005 Cy Young award.

5. Chris Carpenter (2006)

2006 Winner: Brandon Webb - 235 IP - 3.10 ERA - 178 SO - 152 ERA+ Modern Winner: Chris Carpenter - 221.2 IP - 3.09 ERA - 184 SO - 144 ERA+

In a 2-year trend, the winner of the previous year's Cy Young probably deserved to win the next year more than they deserved to win in the original year. 2006 could go either way in terms of who would win between Webb and Carpenter but Carpenter would have a slight edge. His small advantage in ERA and strikeouts would give him the win but the vote would be close.

6. Jake Peavy (2007)

2007 Winner: Jake Peavy - 223.1 IP - 2.54 ERA - 240 SO - 158 ERA+ Modern Winner: Jake Peavy - 223.1 IP - 2.54 ERA - 240 SO - 158 ERA+

Jake Peavy is one of the most forgotten elite pitchers of this era. 2007 was his best season with an 2.54 ERA and striking out 240 batters. His only competition this season was Brandon Webb who was great but had an ERA of 3.01. This Cy Young would have the same winner no matter what year the voting was in.

7. Tim Lincecum (2008-2009)

2008 Winner: Tim Lincecum - 227 IP - 2.62 ERA - 265 SO - 168 ERA+ Modern Winner: Tim Lincecum - 227 IP - 2.62 ERA - 265 SO - 168 ERA+ 2009 Winner: Tim Lincecum - 225.1 IP - 2.48 ERA - 261 SO - 171 ERA+ Modern Winner: Tim Lincecum - 225.1 IP - 2.48 ERA - 261 SO - 171 ERA+

Tim Lincecum had one of the league's best pitcher peaks of all time. 2008 started this two-year run with him easily winning the Cy Young. His competition was Brandon Webb and Johan Santana who both posted excellent years but neither was as good as him. Lincecum would have the best season of his career in 2008 but he still had another great year in him.

2009 ended up being his second amazing season and his last. This Cy Young win had a lot of contention though. Lincecum didn't even receive the most first-place votes with Adam Wainwright getting 12 and Lincecum only getting 11. Lincecum deserved the win though, with his ERA and strikeout numbers outclassing Wainwright.