During his time with the New York Mets, pitcher Tom Seaver won three Cy Young Awards. In 1971, Seaver delivered a masterful season complete with 20 wins and a 1.78 ERA.
However, unlike other years, Seaver did not walk away with the Cy Young award. Fellow Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins did.
Seaver’s league-leading ERA and strikeouts were among several accomplishments which could have led to winning the league’s best pitcher award. Jenkins’ superiority in the wins column may have been what put him over the edge.
Whatever convinced the writers to go with Jenkins over Seaver by a rather large margin is long in the past.