Lee Cruises to AL CY Young

To no one's surprise, the Cleveland Indians' Cliff Lee captured the 2008 AL CY Young Award announced today by the Baseball Writer's Association (BBWA). Lee, who has struggled with injuries and inconsistency in his career, blew away the competition in '08. He compiled a 22-3 mark, a league best 2.54 ERA, and had the third highest winning percentage for a 20-game winner.

It was a big turn around for Lee who spent part of the '07 season in the minor leagues. He's the first Indians pitcher to win the CY Young since Gaylord Perry took home the hardware in 1974.

Lee garnered 24 of the 28 first place votes, with Toronto's Roy Halladay picking up the other four votes to help him finish in second place. Mariano Rivera finished in fourth place with 3 votes and Mike Mussina finished tied for fifth with 2 votes.

2008 AL Cy Young Award Voting
Pitcher, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Cliff Lee, CLE	24	4		132
Roy Halladay, TOR	4	15	6	71
Francisco Rodriguez, LAA		7	11	32
Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS		2	4	10
Mariano Rivera, NYY			3	3
Mike Mussina, NYY			2	2
Ervin Santana, LAA			2	2