12 Great Pitchers Baseball Robbed of a Cy Young

Last Updated: September 24th, 2026 by Matthew Brown

The Cy Young Award is one of the most trivial major awards in sports. For one, it highlights a position that isn't expected to play every game. In fact, most of the winners have played in less than a fourth of their team's games per year.

Voters have the responsibility to measure the value of these pitchers and determine who had the best year of all. As we look back, there are many pitchers in history who have had Cy Young-caliber seasons, but didn't get the award.

Let's go over our 12 most worthy of the honor without receiving the recognition.

12. Luis Tiant: The Man with the Unique Delivery

On facial hair alone, El Tiante deserved an award. In baseball, it's an absolute crime that a pitcher who won two ERA titles did not win a Cy Young Award. In 1968, Tiant had an amazing 1.60 ERA, but lost to the 31-win Denny McLain.

In 1972, Tiant had an equally terrific 1.91 ERA, but lost to Gaylord Perry, who had a 1.92 ERA and a league-leading 29 complete games. There seems to be a lot of bad luck in this case, but he will always be remembered as a great Boston ace.

Luis Tiant — Career	Total
W	229
L	172
ERA	3.30
G	573
IP	3486.1
SO	2416
WHIP	1.20
SV	15
All-Star selections	3

11. Curt Schilling: Postseason Legend

One of the legends of postseason history never got the regular-season accomplishment that all pitchers strive for. He was a workhorse, leading the league in complete games four times in his career. He finished as a Cy Young runner-up three different times.

Two of them were lost to his own teammate, Randy Johnson, who is second all-time with five career Cy Young Awards. Schilling at least has his World Series co-MVP with Johnson in 2001.

Curt Schilling — Career	Total
W	216
L	146
ERA	3.46
G	569
IP	3261.0
SO	3116
WHIP	1.14
SV	22
All-Star selections	6
World Series titles	3

10. Dave Stieb: Blue Jays’ Greatest Pitcher

As far as longevity with the franchise and overall success goes, Dave Stieb is Toronto's all-time ace. He was one of the best aces too, leading the league in pitching WAR for three straight years. He also won the ERA title at 2.48 in 1985.

Unfortunately, he didn't even get to the top three in voting in any season of his career. The number of wins he had was probably the reason, which is just ridiculous. He may have never had a 20-win season, but he contributed to his team just as much, if not more than, any ace out there.

Dave Stieb — Career	Total
W	176
L	137
ERA	3.44
G	443
IP	2895.1
SO	1669
WHIP	1.25
SV	3
All-Star selections	7

9. Andy Pettitte: Mr. October’s Heir

For Andy Pettitte, it was much more about the postseason. His regular-season stats aren't as impressive as the other pitchers on this list. However, Pettitte was still a great pitcher and came close in the second year of his career.

He led the league with 21 wins in 1996, but lost to Toronto's Pat Hentgen, who had one fewer win and a lower ERA. There are some years that have seen the award go to simply the winningest pitcher of the year, and Pettitte could have been that.

Andy Pettitte — Career	Total
W	256
L	153
ERA	3.85
G	531
IP	3316.0
SO	2448
WHIP	1.35
SV	0
All-Star selections	3
World Series titles	5

8. Kevin Brown: The $100 Million Man

Speaking of Cy Young's going to the winningest pitcher, Kevin Brown had a stretch that made him look like the best pitcher in the league. Heck, the Dodgers paid him like the best overall player in the league by making him the first $100 million player.

What helped him get there was a mind-blowing 1996, when he had a minuscule 1.89 ERA in the Steroid Era. But he lost to John Smoltz, who simply had 24 wins to Brown's 17. Smoltz wasn't even that close in ERA, as he had a 2.94 ERA. This one is one of the more obvious snubs in history.

Kevin Brown — Career	Total
W	211
L	144
ERA	3.28
G	486
IP	3256.1
SO	2397
WHIP	1.22
SV	0
All-Star selections	6
World Series titles	1

7. Billy Pierce: White Sox Legend

Billy Pierce had a very good 18-year career in which he received seven All-Star selections as the ace of the Chicago White Sox. He is one who had unlucky timing, as his best year came in 1955, but the Cy Young Award was not introduced until 1956.

Pierce won the ERA title at 1.97 in 33 games. It's a pretty unique situation when you're able to do your best work the year before they start rewarding people for it. Life isn't fair, unfortunately.

Billy Pierce — Career	Total
W	211
L	169
ERA	3.27
G	585
IP	3306.2
SO	1999
WHIP	1.26
SV	32
All-Star selections	7

6. Mickey Lolich: Detroit’s World Series Hero

Mickey Lolich may be a Tiger legend with his 1968 World Series MVP, but he had some all-time regular-season success as well. His best year came in 1971 when he led all pitchers with 25 wins on an MLB-leading 45 starts and a league-leading 29 complete games.

Unfortunately, Lolich contended with Vida Blue in his breakout season and came just five votes shy.

Mickey Lolich — Career	Total
W	217
L	191
ERA	3.44
G	586
IP	3638.1
SO	2832
WHIP	1.23
SV	11
All-Star selections	3
World Series titles	1

5. Frank Tanana: From Power to Finesse

With a 21-year career, Frank Tanana did it all. He had a great stretch near the beginning of his career where he had an ERA below 2.70 for three straight seasons. In 1977, he maintained a 2.54 ERA to win the ERA title, including seven complete-game shutouts.

Tanana, however, barely got into the top nine, as voters clearly didn't respect his season the way they should have.

Frank Tanana — Career	Total
W	240
L	236
ERA	3.66
G	638
IP	4188.1
SO	2773
WHIP	1.27
SV	1
All-Star selections	3

4. Mike Mussina: The Professor (HOF)

One of the reasons why Mike Mussina had some critics say he didn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame is that he received zero Cy Youngs in his entire career.

Moose pitched like a Cy Young-worthy player, as he led in wins, win percentage, starts, and WAR, all in different seasons. Imagine if he combined all of those statistics in one super season. Mussina would definitely have received his first Cy Young if he were able to do that.

Mike Mussina — Career	Total
W	270
L	153
ERA	3.68
G	537
IP	3562.2
SO	2813
WHIP	1.19
SV	0
All-Star selections	5
Gold Gloves	7

3. Nolan Ryan: The Strikeout King (HOF)

Probably the poster child of this list, Nolan Ryan is probably the most well-known and well-debated pitcher in history. He is famous for never winning a Cy Young despite being its all-time strikeout leader.

Some will say the lack of a Cy Young puts him below some of the game's greatest, while others will say that he should never have had to worry about that if voters did their jobs right. Ryan led the league in strikeouts a whopping 11 times in his career, including his unbelievable 383 K season.

No other pitcher could even imagine that level of domination at that time. It certainly warranted a Cy Young for baseball's great flamethrower.

Nolan Ryan Jr. — Career	Total
W	324
L	292
ERA	3.19
G	807
IP	5386.0
SO	5714
WHIP	1.25
SV	3
All-Star selections	8
World Series titles	1

2. Chuck Finley: The Four-K Man

There are many reasons why Chuck Finley was an ace for most of his 17-year career. He was the Angels' workhorse as he led the league in starts and innings pitched in the strike-shortened 1994 season.

His career included five All-Star selections with two seasons of an ERA below 2.60. A lot of times, those stats can at least get a pitcher into the top five of voting. Finley never even reached the top six in his entire career.

Chuck Finley — Career	Total
W	200
L	173
ERA	3.85
G	524
IP	3197.1
SO	2610
WHIP	1.38
SV	0
All-Star selections	5

1. Jerry Koosman: Miracle Mets Hero

Jerry Koosman burst onto the scene in 1968 with back-to-back All-Star seasons. He had a 2.08 ERA in 1968 and a 2.28 ERA in 1969 and didn't even get a single Cy Young vote.

It's pretty unbelievable how much Koosman contributed to the New York Mets without getting even a hint of the national recognition he deserved. This list was a tough one to make, as there are so many pitchers in history who have not had the opportunity to even touch a Cy Young Award.

I'm sure we can make an extended version of this, but for now, we'll rely on you to tell us who you think fits on this list perfectly that isn't here already. Maybe we can get some fun, real names to add, though we already have Jerry Koosman, and he's been a great match.

Jerry Koosman — Career	Total
W	222
L	209
ERA	3.36
G	612
IP	3839.1
SO	2556
WHIP	1.26
SV	17
All-Star selections	2
World Series titles	1

Keep reading

• 16 Great Managers Baseball Robbed of a World Series
• Left-Handed Pitchers Who Made Hitting Look Hopeless
• When Baseball Transcended the Game Itself