A Look Back: Corey Kluber
On Wednesday night the BBWAA ( Baseball Writers Association of America) named Indians’ starter Corey Kluber the winner of the 2014 American League Cy-Young Award. He was favored over Felix Hernandez, getting 17 of the 30 possible first-place votes.
Let’s take a look back at Corey’s award winning season:
April:
His first start of the year took place in Oakland, on April 2nd when he matched up against former Indian Scott Kazmir. He did not fare well, giving up 5 ER in just 3 and 1/3 IP.
He would finish out the month of April on a stronger note, with a 2-3 record to go along with a 4.14 ERA. Definitely not his best month of the season.
May:
May went a lot smoother for Kluber as he went undefeated (4-0) and improved his record to 6-3, and only going less than seven innings once. (May 9th,6 2/3 IP) He had an ERA of 2.09 lowering his season Average to 3.04.
June:
Kluber pitched well in June but didn’t get much support from his teammates, posting a 2.89 ERA but only mustering 1 win. He gave up 4 runs to Boston on June 4th, the second most he allowed all season. Corey went on to shutout the Diamondbacks two starts later on just 4 hits over 7 innings.
July:
July was a bittersweet month for Corey, as he was snubbed of an All-Star appearance, losing out to Chris Sale in the Final Vote.
July was also undoubtedly the best month of Kluber’s young career as he posted an perfect record (4-0) for the second time of the season, and turned in a masterful 1.54 ERA.
7/30/14 @SEA
Kluber defeated Cy-Young candidate Felix Hernandez while shutting out the Mariners on just 85 pitches and earning his 11th win of the season tying his career high. He became the 1st pitcher in MLB history to face 28 batters or fewer in back-to-back starts of at least 9 IP in that game.
Corey Finished the month with an 11-6 record, and a 2.61 ERA.
August:
Kluber picked up right where he left off in August beating the Cincinnati Reds at Progressive Field, and only allowing one run over 7.1 innings.
Corey’s record in August was 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA,bringing his season totals to 13-8/2.52.
September:
The soon to be Cy-Young winner stepped up to the plate down the stretch, when the games mattered the most. He shut-out the Rays on September 26th in 8 innings, while only allowing 5 hits. He earned 5 wins in the month of September, (a career high) while going 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA.
Statistics:
Strikeouts: 2nd (269)
Wins: T 1st (18)
ERA: 3rd (2.44)
WHIP: 6th (1.09)
WAR: 1st (7.4)
About Author
