CY Young Day In Boston

On August 13, 1908 was Cy Young Day in Boston, Mass. Young pitched briefly against an All-Star team.

In 1904 Young pitched the first perfect game in American League history as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He is still the only player in a Boston uniform to throw a perfect game to this day.

Young who played in 22 seasons for the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, Boston Americans, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Naps and Boston Rustlers finished his career with 511 wins as a starting pitcher. The 511 wins are still a record in the MLB today.

As a member of the Red Sox, he added three more no-hitters before his career ended. On top of the no-hitters Young pitched a record 749 complete games, something that will never be broken now because of the limited appearances a starting pitcher can obtain in a season, and the introduction of the relief pitcher.

One of Young’s most memorable moments was when he threw out the first pitch in World Series history in 1903 as a member of the 1903 Boston Red Sox. Young and the Red Sox would go on to win that years World Series.

Young even has an award named after him. The “CY Young” award is now given out to the pitcher who puts up the best stats in a single season now.

Young finished his career with 511 wins, 316 losses and 17 saves. He had a 2.63 ERA with 2,803 strikeouts, 1,217 walks, 749 complete games and 76 shutouts.

Five times he was the Wins Champion. Twice in the NL with the Spiders in 1892 with 36 wins and in 1895 with 35 wins. Three times in the AL with the Boston Americans / Red Sox in 1901 with 33 wins, 1902 with 32 wins and 1903 with 28 wins. His 36 wins in 1893 was his highest single season total.

Twice he was an ERA Champion in 1892 with the Spiders in the National League with a 1.93 ERA and in 1901 with the Boston Americans with a 1.62 ERA. However, his lowest single season ERA came in 1908 as a member of the Red Sox when he had a 1.26 ERA, but did not lead the league.

Twice he was a Strikeout Champion, once in the NL in with the Spiders in 1896 with 140 strikeouts, and in the AL in 1901 as a member of the Boston Americans with 158 strikeouts. However, his highest single season total of strikeouts came in 1905 when he recorded 210 strikeouts, but did not lead the league.

Twice he was a Saves Champion, once in the NL in 1896 with the Spiders he recorded a league high three saves. Once in the AL, in 1903 with the Boston Red Sox he led the league in saves with 2. His highest single season total of saves came in 1896 with three.

Young was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937 with 76.12 percent of the vote. He was also announced to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1997.