What if Santana Doesn't Win the Cy Young?

Even though Our Guy Johan Santana didn't get a win today in his five inning tune up against the Yankees, he's likely going to win the American League Cy Young award. I've shown his numbers against Curt Schilling's several times, and most of the media has seemingly got on board. But, suppose Our Guy doesn't win. Would it be the biggest injustice in post season awards? Hardly. Tonight, I want to go back into history a ways and focus on two MVP races from the past.

Player	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS
A	522	141	186	34	5	36	137	145	51	.356	.499	.648	1.147
B	538	88	173	29	4	18	103	79	95	.322	.409	.491	.900

Player A led the league in Runs, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Average, On Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage and On Base plus Slugging. Player B's team was 103-51 and won the World Series. Player A's team was 93-59 and second in the league. Despite his Triple Crown and leadership of eight offensive categories, Player A lost the MVP balloting to player B.

Player	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS
A	528	125	181	40	9	32	114	162	47	.343	.499	.634	1.133
B	534	97	168	31	10	20	97	64	32	.315	.391	.522	.913

Player A led the league in Runs, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Average, On Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage and On Base plus Slugging. Player B's team was 97-57 and won the World Series. Player A's team was 83-71 and third in the league. Despite his Triple Crown and leadership of eight offensive categories, Player A lost the MVP balloting to player B. Now, I suppose that you could argue that in each case, the award went to a player from the best team in the league and that's what these awards should be about, rewarding a player from a team that has won. It seems to me, however, that a triple crown winner, who leads the league in virtually every important offensive statistic should be recognized as the most valuable player in the league. Ultimately, however, these votes were not so much about the player's contributions or team success, but about Player A's character. In the first chart, Player B is Joe Gordon of the New York Yankees, the AL MVP in 1942. In the second chart, Player B is Joe DiMaggio, the AL MVP of 1947. Of course, Player A in both instances is Ted Williams, very possibly the greatest hitter of all time. By the time Mr. Williams died, his "bad" reputation had faded and he was remembered for his accomplishments. The MVP votes of 1942 and 1947 seem absurd now. So, if Curt Schilling should happen to win the AL Cy Young, Our Guy will most certainly be robbed. To be sure, Santana does not have the bad reputation that Williams had, but playing for a "small-market" team certainly works against Our Guy, and with the media often times perception is more important than reality. And if Santana should lose the award, history will probably be a lot kinder to him than the present.