Coming off a sparkling 2004 season & AL Cy Young Award win, Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Johan Santana put up what was perhaps an equally compelling campaign in 2005. His recognition for such an achievement? A 3rd-place AL Cy Young Award voting finish—possibly one of the worst travesties of MLB awards voting EVER.
But don’t just take my word for it—let’s see for ourselves:
2005 AL Cy Young 1st Place: Bartolo Colon
2005 AL Cy Young 2nd Place: Mariano Rivera
2005 AL Cy Young 3rd Place: Johan Santana
“One of these things is not like the other…one of these things just doesn’t belong”
Well, I guess in this case it would be “one of these things VERY MUCH belongs!”. To this day, I don’t understand how Santana wasn’t the ‘05 AL Cy Young recipient—mind-boggling! Two theories:
You might be thinking “why does this matter—everyone knows Santana was a dominant pitcher”. But consider: Johan bookended 2005 with Cy Young Awards in ‘04 & ‘06. He first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2018—and immediately dropped off after garnering only 2.4% of votes. What if he had a 3-peat on his ledger?
Only Greg Maddux & Randy Johnson ever won three consecutive Cy Youngs (both took home four in a row, actually)—and they were HOF locks.
That’s why the 2005 AL Cy Young Award voting still rankles to this day. If justice had been served, Johan Santana may have a plaque—or at very least still be in the running for one—in Cooperstown.