WASHINGTON — Juan Marichal, one of the greatest pitchers in his or any era, never won an NL Cy Young award. He never even garnered a single first-place vote. Such was his timing to count Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson among his contemporaries.
The same fate appeared destined for Madison Bumgarner, who might be able to hit home runs off Clayton Kershaw but can't hold a candle to his strikeouts or ERA or FIP.The door, though, appears to be open now. Over the final two months of this season, with Kershaw on the Dodgers' 60-day disabled list, Bumgarner could emerge from a smallish pack and lay claim to being the league's best pitcher.