MLB

Dickey becomes first Mets pitcher to win Cy Young since Gooden in 1985

R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets is the National League’s Cy Young Award winner.

Dickey was an easy choice for the NL honor in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The 38-year-old Dickey became the first pitcher who relied predominantly on a knuckleball to win the Cy Young Award, an achievement mentors such as Hall of Famer Phil Niekro are quite proud of.

“I am not a self-made man by any stretch of the imagination,” Dickey said on MLB Network. “This is a victory for all of us.”

Dickey is the third Mets pitcher to win the award and first since Dwight Gooden did it in 195.

Dickey drew 27 of 32 first-place votes and outdistanced 2011 winner Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gio Gonzalez of Washington finished third. David Price of the Rays won the AL Cy Young.

Dickey joined Dwight Gooden (1985) and three-time winner Tom Seaver as the only Mets pitchers to win the award. The right-hander was the club’s first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990. And perhaps most impressive, Dickey did it during a season when the fourth-place Mets finished 74-88.

“I congratulate him on his tenacity not only to succeed against all odds but to excel and achieve this very high honor,” Seaver said, according to MLB.com.

Price and Dickey are both from Tennessee, making them the fourth pair of Cy Young winners to be born in the same state, according to STATS.

The two MVP awards will be announced Thursday. Verlander’s teammate, Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, is a leading contender in the American League.

With AP