Ryu Hyun-jin leads National League Cy Young Points

The best ERA in the entire Major League (1.51). The joint leaders for the most number of wins in the National League (six wins and one loss). “Korean M0nster” Ryu Hyun-jin is reaching for the top of the Major League Baseball.

The 32-year-old starter of the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t allow any run during his 7-inning appearance at Great American Ballpark, single-handedly leading an overwhelming 8-3 victory against Cincinnati on Monday. This marks the first time that Ryu has chalked up a win in an away game. Thanks to his outstanding performance, some even propose the possibility of Ryu’s winning the Cy Young this season. While it is still early in the season, the South Korean is leading the Big League on several fronts.

This year, Ryu has appeared in a total of nine games. A close look at the records on the first nine games of the National League’s best pitchers, who have won the Cy Young Award since 2011, Ryu’s performance stands out.

R.A. Dickey, who played for the Mets in 2012, threw in nine games and recorded six wins and one loss. But his ERA was 3.61, almost double the figure of Ryu’s. Clayton Kershaw, who has three Cy Youngs in 2011, 2013, and 2014, also won six wins out of his first nine games in 2014. But Kershaw lost one more game, and his ERA at 2.92 was also higher than Ryu’s.

The Cy Young Points, a record tallied by ESPN, are considering Ryu as favorite for the National League Cy Young Award. Currently, the South Korean pitcher is topping the list with a total 64.6 points among his competitors in the National League. Kenley Jansen, the second runner and Ryu’s teammates, is lagging three points behind.

The Cy Young Points (CYP) are calculated based on 10 different criteria including the number of appearances, starting games, innings thrown, ERA, strikeouts, wins and losses. Since 2011, the CYP has predicted the winners six times out of eight. The current winner of the American CYP is Justin Verlander, who has amassed 77.2 points so far. Verlander has won one more game than Ryu has. But his ERA at 2.38 is higher than Ryu. The Cy Young Awards go to the best pitcher each from the National and American Leagues.


Won-Joo Lee takeoff@donga.com