Minnesota Twins lefthander Johan Santana, who finished the season with a 19-6 record, a 2.77 ERA, 245 strikeouts and only 47 walks, was unanimously voted the AL Cy Young award for the 2006 season in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Sports Illustrated’s AP report writes this about Santana;

 Santana won the AL Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second time in three years, and the Minnesota Twins’ ace was a unanimous choice once again.

“This year, I wouldn’t say it was easier, but you definitely have a better idea where you are,” he said. “I definitely feel more comfortable.”

Santana received all 28 first-place votes for a perfect total of 140 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Chien-Ming Wang of the New York Yankees finished a distant second with 15 second-place votes and 51 points. Toronto’s Roy Halladay was third with 48 points.

“This was not such a big surprise as in 2004,” Santana said at a news conference at home in Venezuela.

Still, the announcement set off another wild celebration in his baseball-crazy country.

“I can’t describe what’s going on here. People here love the game, they follow the game, they know everything we do,” Santana said. “Today, we made a lot of people happy.”

The left-hander separated himself from all others during a dominant season, going 19-6 with a 2.77 ERA and 245 strikeouts to propel Minnesota from a poor start to the AL Central title.

With a baffling changeup and excellent control, he tied Wang for most wins in the majors and led the AL in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched (233 2-3).

Forget the Triple Crown — it was the pitching version of a Quadruple Crown.

“I was trying to show people that what happened in 2004 wasn’t a fluke,” Santana said.

And here’s a scary thought: At 27, he thinks he can become even more effective, because there’s more to learn.

“In the future, I want to be consistent from Day 1. We’re still making adjustments,” Santana said. “I still believe that I can be better.”

For winning the Cy Young Award, Santana receives a $100,000 bonus.

                               

Santana is also a contender for the AL MVP award, but faces muh stiffer competition from the likes of Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and others.

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 17th, 2006 at 7:43 am and is filed under All Time Baseball Highlights, Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, All Time Pitching Highlights, Post-Season Awards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.