Candidates for the 2007 American League Cy Young Award

Who Should Win the AL Cy Young?

October means the leaves changing colors, the NFL and college football seasons are in full swing and the kickoff of another NHL season. Thanks to Dane Cook we also know that October means it's time for the Major League Baseball playoffs and that there is indeed only one October, contrary to what some of you may have been told. With the Major League Baseball playoffs well under way it's also time for the regular season awards to be handed out to the best in all of baseball.

The award that is generating the most discussion among baseball fans and experts is the American League Cy Young Award. No matter who takes home the AL Cy Young in 2007 it is almost certain that there will be some controversy surrounding the winner. The problem is simple. There were many very good pitchers during the 2007 Major League Baseball season in the American League. As always, whenever a situation like this occurs in the sports world there is only one person who can make the final call.

Me.

Before I pick the 2007 American League Cy Young Award winning pitcher here are the five candidates. All five of these pitchers had an outstanding season and could claim to have earned the Cy Young in 2007.

First candidate for the 2007 American League Cy Young Award: Chien-Ming Wang

Wang was the staff ace for a Yankees team that had less than stellar pitching in 2007 to say the least. Wang finished the season with a 19-7 record, an impressive 3.70 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The stat that may keep the Cy Young Award out of the hands of Chien-Ming Wang is the fact that he only had one complete game during the entire 2007 regular season. Wang only pitched a total of 199.1 innings during 2007, fewer than any of the other four candidates.

Second candidate for the 2007 American League Cy Young Award: Josh Beckett

Beckett was simply phenomenal during the 2007 regular season. Beckett was the only 20-game winner in all the Majors in '07, finishing with a 20-7 record. Beckett's 3.27 ERA and 1.14 WHIP are better than his Yankee counterpart. Like Wang, however, Beckett only threw one complete game in 2007, pitching in 200.2 innings during the regular season.