After failing to win either of this year’s Rookie of the Year awards, the announcement that Dominican right-hander Bartolo Colon has been awarded the American League Cy Young Award has met with universal applause. Every newspaper in the Dominican Republic carries the story in large headlines. Colon, who was injured during the AL playoffs and missed his second start, was at home in Altamira, Puerto Plata province when the announcement was made. Colon is the second Dominican to win the Cy Young Award, following Pedro Martinez who won in 1997, 1999 and 2000. The voting was unexpectedly lop-sided in favor of Colon, who garnered 17 first place votes against only eight for the runner-up, Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees. Venezuelan Johan Santana finished third in the balloting, the only other player to receive first place votes.
Colon, the chubby right-hander who plays for the Anaheim Angels, won 21 games this year for the champions of the American League West division. The Angels played the Chicago White Sox for the American League championship, losing in four games.
Bartolo is the first player in 41 years to win the award for the Angels. He was the only pitcher who was marked on every ballot. He was the only 20-game winner in the American league and posted an Earned Run Average of 3.48 per nine innings and had 157 strikeouts.
One of the reasons that Bartolo Colon was so happy was the fact that his contract provided for an additional US$500,000 bonus for winning the Cy Young.