Verlander Wins AL Cy Young Award

By - Kris Fletcher

Detroit's Justin Verlander was named the unanimous winner of the American League Cy Young Award Tuesday after one of the most dominating seasons by a pitcher in recent memory.

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Verlander garnered all the first-place votes from the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The Angels' Jered Weaver finished second in the voting and the Rays' James Shield was third.

The 28-year-old becomes the ninth unanimous AL Cy Young winner since separate AL and NL awards were created back in 1967.

Verlander had a brilliant year, going 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA in 34 starts. He led the Tigers to the American League Central crown, posting 250 strikeouts in 251 innings.

He led the majors in wins, strikeouts, and opponents' batting average, while topping the AL in ERA. He tossed the second no-hitter of his career on May 7th and flirted with several others over the course of the season.