The Padres may play in Slam Diego, but it was their ace who stole the show in 2023.
Blake Snell took home the 2023 NL Cy Young Award on Wednesday, beating out fellow finalists Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants.
Snell added to his trophy case, pairing an NL Cy Young Award with the AL Cy Young Award he earned with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, and joined some impressive company in the process.
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The 30-year-old lefty is the 22nd player in Major League Baseball history to win multiple Cy Youngs. He is also just the seventh player to win a Cy Young in each league, joining Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Gaylord Perry, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer.
The win gives the Padres their fifth Cy Young in franchise history and first since Jake Peavy took it home in 2007. Randy Jones (1976), Perry (1978) and Mark Davis (1989) also won the award while playing for the franchise.
Snell was dominant in a down year for the Padres. He led the majors with a 2.25 ERA and 5.8 hits-per-nine rate while ranking second in strikeouts with 234. He compiled 12 scoreless starts – the most of any qualified pitcher since 1969 – and ended the year with a 14-9 record.
MLB
After winning his second Cy Young, Snell’s attention will now turn to free agency. He just finished out the final year of a five-year, $50 million deal he signed with the Rays in 2019 and is now the top starting pitcher on the open market after Shohei Ohtani.
