Tampa Bay Rays left-hander David Price won the 2012 American League Cy Young Award in a close call over the 2011 winner, Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander, in one of the tightest races in the history of the AL balloting. Results were announced on the MLB Network.

Price (20-5, 2.56 ERA) was named first on 14 of the 28 ballots cast by two writers in each league city, second on 13 ballots and third on one to score 153 points, based on a tabulation system that rewards seven points for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Verlander (17-8, 2.64 ERA) received 13 first-place votes, 13 seconds and two thirds for 149 points. The other first-place votes went to Rays closer Fernando Rodney (2-2, 0.60 ERA, 48 SV), who finished fifth overall among the nine pitchers who gained mention.

Price, 27, who finished second in the 2010 election to the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez, is the first Tampa Bay pitcher honored. Verlander is the seventh Cy Young Award winner and third in the AL to finish second the year after he won the award. The others were the Oakland A’s Jim “Catfish” Hunter in 1975 and the Baltimore Orioles’ Jim Palmer in 1977 in the AL; the Milwaukee Braves’ Warren Spahn in 1958, the Atlanta Braves’ Tom Glavine in 1992, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb in 2007 and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Roy Halladay in 2011 in the National League.

The four-point differential is the closest of any election since ballots permitted voting for more than one pitcher in 1970. Three pitchers were on ballots from that year through 2009 and five since 2010. The only tie in Cy Young Award voting occurred in 1969 between the Orioles’ Mike Cuellar and the Tigers’ Denny McLain, the last year when voters could select only one pitcher.

The next year, the voting system was changed with tabulation on a 5-3-1 basis. The closest elections in those years were in 1972 when the Cleveland Indians’ Gaylord Perry won over the Chicago White Sox’ Wilbur Wood, 64-58, and in 1996 when the Toronto Blue Jays’ Pat Hentgen out-pointed the New York Yankees’ Andy Pettitte, 110-104.

The closest election in National League voting occurred in 1987 when only three points separated the top three candidates – the Phillies’ Steve Bedrosian (57), the Chicago Cubs’ Rick Sutcliffe (55) and the San Francisco Giants’ Rick Reuschel (54), who began that year with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1981, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela also won a narrow margin over the Cincinnati Reds’ Tom Seaver, 70-67.

In the period from 1956 through 1966 when voting was limited to one pitcher only, Spahn lost close elections in 1958 to the Yankees’ Bob Turley, 5-4, in 1960 to the Pirates’ Vernon Law, 8-4, and in 1961 to the Yankees’ Whitey Ford, 9-6. Spahn won the award in 1957 but missed unanimity by one vote that went to the Chicago White Sox’ Dick Donovan.

The voting (7-4-3-2-1 scoring system):



2012 AL Cy Young

Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Points David Price, Rays 14 13 1 153 Justin Verlander, Tigers 13 13 2 149 Jered Weaver, Angels 2 14 9 2 70 Felix Hernandez, Mariners 5 10 6 41 Fernando Rodney, Rays 1 5 4 8 38 Chris Sale, White Sox 1 4 6 17 Jim Johnson, Orioles 1 3 5 Matt Harrison, Rangers 2 2 Yu Darvish, Rangers 1 1

Name Affiliation Chapter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Mel Antonen SI.com BAL Price Verlander Rodney Weaver Johnson Ken Rosenthal Fox Sports.com BAL Price Verlander Weaver Hernandez Rodney Rob Bradford WEEI.com BOS Verlander Price Hernandez Weaver Rodney Bill Ballou Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette BOS Price Verlander Weaver Hernandez Harrison Dave Van Dyck Chicago Tribune CHI Price Verlander Hernandez Sale Weaver Scot Gregor Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald CHI Price Verlander Weaver Sale Rodney Dennis Manoloff Cleveland Plain Dealer CLE Price Verlander Sale Weaver Harrison Jim Ingraham News Herald CLE Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Sale Lynn Henning Detroit News DET Verlander Price Weaver Rodney Sale Jon Paul Morosi Fox Sports.com DET Price Verlander Hernandez Weaver Rodney Joe Posnanski SI.com KC Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Sale Sam Mellinger Kansas City Star KC Verlander Price Hernandez Weaver Rodney Michael Martinez FoxSportsWest.com LA Price Weaver Verlander Rodney Hernandez Bill Plunkett Orange County Register LA Price Weaver Verlander Rodney Sale Joe Christensen Minneapolis Star Tribune MIN Verlander Price Rodney Hernandez Weaver Ben Goessling St. Paul Pioneer Press MIN Verlander Price Hernandez Sale Darvish Chad Jennings Journal News NY Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Sale Daniel Barbarisi Wall Street Journal NY Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Sale Jorge Ortiz USA Today OAK Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Rodney Bruce Jenkins San Francisco Chronicle OAK Verlander Price Weaver Sale Hernandez Larry Stone Seattle Times SEA Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Rodney John Hickey At Large SEA Price Verlander Weaver Johnson Hernandez Joe Smith Tampa Bay Times TB Price Verlander Rodney Weaver Hernandez Martin Fennelly Tampa Tribune TB Price Verlander Rodney Weaver Johnson Gerry Fraley Dallas Morning News TEX Price Verlander Weaver Rodney Johnson Drew Davison Fort Worth Star Telegram TEX Rodney Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Shi Davidi At Large TOR Price Verlander Rodney Weaver Hernandez Ken Fidlin Toronto Sun TOR Verlander Price Weaver Hernandez Rodney

Below is a breakdown of the 28 individual ballots, submitted by two writers representing each team in the American League. For more information on the voting, see our Voting FAQ