NEW YORK – Mention the American League Cy Young Award to Cam Schlittler, and the conversation usually doesn’t last long. The Yankees right-hander prefers to remain focused on what he needs to do every five days, especially as his team closes in on securing a postseason berth.
After firing another six splendid frames in Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Mets to grab the Major League ERA lead, Schlittler’s continued dominance had the Yankees wondering if he might need to clear shelf space for more than one trophy this offseason.
“I think valuable is a good word. He might be the MVP, too,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s been awesome. Just an awesome season, and hopefully there’s a lot left in the tank.”
No pitcher has won MVP since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2014. This year, the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez and the Rays’ Junior Caminero are very much in the discussion, but Schlittler deserves consideration.
“It’s been done before, right?” said Cody Bellinger, a teammate of Kershaw’s with Los Angeles. “That was a pretty outstanding year for Kersh, and Schlitt’s been doing such an amazing job. That’d be very exciting.”
Aaron Judge, a three-time AL MVP, offered a slightly different view.
“He’s definitely pitching like an MVP, but they’ve got a Cy Young Award for a reason – best pitcher in the game,” Judge said. “So he’s got my vote, definitely, for the Cy Young.”
Supported by Ben Rice’s team-leading 38th home run and Austin Wells’ third-inning solo shot, Schlittler held the Mets hitless until Brett Baty doubled off the base of the right-field wall in the fifth inning.
According to Schlittler, he was fueled in part by the pro-Mets discourse that spilled out during Saturday’s Subway Series contest.
“It was a little frustrating yesterday, just hearing all the Mets chants,” Schlittler said. “I wanted to make sure I came in here today and shut that down.”
The awards debate, as usual, interested him considerably less.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Schlittler said of the MVP talk. “It’s a great compliment.”
Schlittler’s outing was his eighth scoreless start of the year, behind only the Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez (10) across the Majors. His 1.949 ERA dropped below the 1.952 of the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski.
“I think the best is yet to come,” Wells said. “He’s still getting better. As he pitches more in the big leagues, I think he’s going to learn more what he’s capable of and probably surpass that as well.”
The start ended in painful fashion when Bo Bichette lined a 111.5 mph comebacker off the back of Schlittler’s right leg. The ball ricocheted toward Wells, who threw out Bichette at first base.
Schlittler went directly to the clubhouse after the play, though at 94 pitches, his workload was likely complete anyway.
“I’m feeling good,” Schlittler said. “It’ll be a fun couple of days trying to get that recovered, but I think we’re in a good spot.”
Schlittler’s 1.95 ERA is the second lowest by a Yankee through 31 starts since Ron Guidry’s 1.71 ERA in 1978, when “Louisiana Lightning” won the Cy Young and finished second in the MVP race to Jim Rice of the Red Sox.
Schlittler’s start against the Mets served as a perfect snapshot of his year.
It was the 21st time Schlittler has allowed one or no runs. That’s a franchise record, and over the past 110 years, only three pitchers age 25 or younger have had as many: Dean Chance (1964, 22), Blake Snell (2018, 21) and Babe Ruth (1916, 21).
His eight strikeouts brought his season total to 228.
“Every five days, when I know he’s going, it’s just, ‘Hey, grind down this pitcher, get one run, and let Cam go do the rest,’” Judge said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re on a losing streak or the team is rolling. He’s the same every single day. He shows up ready to pitch.”
Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and David Bednar finished the shutout for the Yankees, whose magic number dropped to one as they aim to secure the franchise’s ninth playoff appearance in the past 10 years.
That remains the only race Schlittler wants to focus on.
“The expectation is to make the playoffs, and the expectation is to win a championship,” Schlittler said. “We’re in a good spot if we keep playing the way we’re playing.”