A few short seasons ago, the name Sandy Alcantara was known to very few fans. Few could have imagined that a young Dominican pitcher would ever capture an award as prestigious as the Cy Young Award.
The Cy Young Award is a distinction given to the top pitchers in the American and National leagues. The winners are selected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and announced every year in November.
86 Seconds of Sandy Alcántara getting Whiffs on Changeups over 93mph. ?? https://t.co/DaprJHR07C
“86 Seconds of Sandy Alcántara getting Whiffs on Changeups over 93mph.” – Rob Friedman
Alcantara was the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner. Fans of Sandy’s team, the Miami Marlins, know him for his longevity. In 2022, he brought that stamina to a new level, throwing a league-best six complete game shutouts and logging an incredible 228.2 innings pitched.
Sandy Alcantara had a league-worst 14 losses as a member of the Miami Marlins in 2019, but he has rallied to capture the top award that a pitcher could ever hope to receive. Sandy Alcantara amassed a 14-9 record this season, becoming the first ever Marlins pitcher to capture the prestigious award.
The 27-year old Dominican was in attendance at the Baseball Writers of America annual dinner on Jan. 28 to receive his award. Alcantara took the stage with his AL counterpart, Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros, who won the third Cy Young of his career in 2022.
The trophies awarded to them drew mirth from fans online after it was revealed that they featured some spelling errors. Alcantara was seen posing with the trophy, which read “Most Valuble Pitcher”. It was not immediately obvious whether or not Verlander or Alcantara realized the spelling mistake as they smiled for the camera.
“omg valuable is spelled wrong” – Talkin’ Baseball
Apparently, the wording on the trophy was recently replaced, with the term “valuble” replacing “outstanding” in the sequence of words that brandish the base of the trophy. This most likely explains why the two men found some very obvious errors engraved on their hardware.
Sandy Alcantara will need to be big for his team in 2023
Although Alcantara was mesmerizing in 2022, his team could make no such claims for themselves. The Marlins finished with a record of 69-93, marking the 18th time since 2003 that they have missed the postseason. In an increasingly open NL East, more pitchers stepping up like Alcantara could be the difference for the club next season.
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