Sandy Alcántara is about to find out.
Barring an all-time snub job by the Baseball Writers of America, once the postseason festivities end, Alcántara will hoist the Cy Young hardware, given annually to the best pitcher in each of baseball's two major leagues.
Alcántara put an exclamation point on his 2022 campaign last Friday, twirling eight innings, striking out eight and allowing only one earned run, capping a season in which he led all of MLB in innings pitched (228.2) and complete games (6).
"It's pretty incredible really what Sandy's been able to do," outgoing Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters after Alcántara's final 2022 appearance.
Alcántara's 2022 stat line is all the more impressive when you note that his 14-9 record was accomplished for a team that won only 69 of its 162 games. A pitcher's win-loss record is misleading, and Alcántara's illustrates why. He pitched at least six innings in 26 of his 32 starts, and in 23 of those 26 starts, he allowed his opponent two or fewer earned runs.I hope everyone enjoyed my tour.. thank you all for the support and love😍🙏🏾 https://t.co/3TBnK2EqTY
— Sandy Alcantara (@sandyalcantar22) October 1, 2022
That, folks, is what's known as giving your team its best chance to win.
It's not just teammates, media members, and hometown fans who overwhelmingly consider Alcántara to be a shoo-in to take home the Cy Young trophy this offseason. Count reigning National League Cy Young winner and Corbin Burnes as a fan of what Alcántara accomplished in 2022.
"Yeah, he'd be the Cy Young for me this year," Burnes said. "What he's done as far as going deep into games, doing it start in and start out, he doesn't have many blow-up outings. He goes out there and gives them seven, eight or nine innings, and gives them a chance to win.If statistics and five-star peer reviews aren't sufficient to convince you the Marlins ace is a lock to put a Cy on his mantel, maybe the current Las Vegas odds will clue you in.
"Obviously, they're not the best baseball team this year, which makes it even tougher to go out there and do what he's doing, so yeah, he would be my Cy Young this year."
Cy Young Award odds according to VegasInsider:
Sandy Alcántara –1000
Zac Gallen +4000
Julio Urias +4000
Max Fried +50000
Aaron Nola +50000
Corbin Burnes +50000
Kyle Wright +50000
Max Scherzer +50000
Edwin Diaz +50000
For those of you not gambling at home, –1000 means if you bet $1 on Alcántara to win the award today, you'd take home $1.10 if he wins.
TL;DR? Book it. Send it in. Sandy Alcántara wins the 2022 NL Cy Young Award.
