This was a one horse race, folks. Which isn't really a race. It's just... one horse running at top speed for no reason. Which is an appropriate way to describe Cliff Lee's 2013 season. Only with him, he's not being awesome for no reason. He's doing it because he knows no other way.
Yes, Cliff Lee was our across the board Cy Young winner. Here's the breakdown of the reader vote:
313 votes
Cliff Lee -- 92% (289 votes)
Cole Hamels -- 4% (11 votes)
Roy Halladay -- 1% (4 votes)
Jonathan Pettibone -- 1% (3 votes)
Tyler Cloyd, John Lannan, and Ethan Martin got two votes each. Kyle Kendrick was the only one to get zero votes, which means the second half of his season was bad enough to completely cancel out the great first half. It was that bad.
The results of the staff vote were unsurprising. Cliff Lee, you have brought this community together. The breakdown:
12 votes
Cliff Lee -- 11 votes
There was one vote cast for Roy Halladay. I can only assume this was done because the writer in question lives in Alaska and the constant, unrelenting cold has addled his brain.
88Lindros88 -- Cliff Lee
If Lee was the best all around player on the team it seems he must have also been the best pitcher on the staff, no?
Ben Horrow -- Cliff Lee
Yeah, I know, it's a boring choice, but if Lee's the MVP he's also the Cy Young. Hamels has an awesome season, but Lee's was better. Cliff Lee makes me want to be a better baseball fan. If you've ever said that about any other player, I'm sure they would have been your MVP or Cy Young in that given season too.
Cormican -- Cliff Lee
"Whatever"
dajafi -- Cliff Lee
Because he's awesome. Seriously. With better run support, he might have won the real Cy Young, and as it was, he delivered another utterly great season even if the wins weren't there to the extent they should have been.
DanyS -- Cliff Lee
Duh.
David S. Cohen -- Cliff Lee
Every start of his from the first to the last gave the team its best chance to win.
Jaypoozle -- Cliff Lee
Is it odd to be getting this by default, but actually still be deserving of the award? His "return to form" this past season is reason enough. Top 10 in MLB in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts. Second best WAR among qualified starters. Yadda yadda he is awesome.
John Stolnis -- Cliff Lee
Lee was one of the five best pitchers in the National League this year. This wasn't even a horse race.
Liz Roscher -- Cliff Lee
Thus season may have been mostly horrifying, but Cliff Lee was always a pleasure to watch.
Phrozen -- Roy Halladay
Because it's actually October 2010, and it's only gonna get funner.
schmenkman -- Cliff Lee
4th highest fWAR among NL pitchers, 2.87/2.82/2.78 ERA/FIP/xFIP, highest K/BB ratio in MLB, 14 Ks and 4 RBIs in one game (second *ever* to do that).
Wet Luzinski -- Cliff Lee
He doesn't walk dudes. He pitches fast. And he is very good at throwing strikes. I'm now used to his August-early September dead arm phase, but except for that he is an upraised middle finger stuck on the bump. While I don't doubt his intensity and probably would not enjoy his company a bit, unlike Halladay I believe he can laugh at himself. He is not very likely to get all pissy at his teammates, though he does at times. He is not a lost cause at the plate.