The Cy Young Award is one of the most prestigious individual honors in all of sports. Those who win the annual award belong to a very exclusive fraternity that includes just 84 unique individuals. To date, 22 pitchers have won multiple Cy Youngs. On October 26, 1982, Philadelphia Phillies ace Steve Carlton became the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards.
It was a special year for him. That year he led both leagues with 295.2 innings, 23 wins, 19 complete games, six shutouts and 286 strikeouts. He also led both league in something called Fielding Independent Pitching, basically a statistic that measures a pitcher's effectiveness in preventing homeruns, walks, hit-by-pitch, causing strikeouts. That year, his 2.41 FIP helped Steve Carlton become the first pitcher to win four Cy Youngs. It would be his last and now both Randy Johnson (5) and Roger Clemens (7) have surpassed his total, submerging his legacy.
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