CLEVELAND, Ohio – Corey Kluber left TribeFest early Saturday to fly to New York to receive his AL Cy Young award at the annual New York Baseball Writers Association of America dinner in Manhattan.

Kluber's wife, Amanda, accompanied him. So did manager Terry Francona and GM Chris Antonetti. No surprise there.

But what Cy Young winner goes anywhere without his catcher? Yes, Yan Gomes made the trip as well.

Why not? When Kluber was named AL Cy Young winner in November, Gomes said he felt like he was winning the award.

"I was so excited for him," said Gomes at the time. "It almost felt like I was winning the award. His work ethic really showed how much he grew this year."

Gomes said Kluber's ability to make adjustments during a game served him well in 2014.

"He would make an adjustment in the first or second inning," said Gomes. "He knew exactly what his pitches were doing. If his two-seamer wasn't working, he'd try to put guys away with a four-seamer or cutter.

"In one game, we went one through nine just using his fastball. The last pitch to the No.9 hitter was a cutter. It just showed the kind of growth he had."

Kluber accepted the Cy Young with a new buzz cut.

"I got a little tired trying to find somewhere to get a haircut," said Kluber with the hint of a smile. "I did it myself. Not this time, but the first time."

Asked how his wife felt about his new look, Kluber said, "I think she has mixed feelings about it."

Kluber was asked if he'd picked a place in his home to display his Cy Young award.

He said he hadn't really thought about it.

"I'm sure I'll pick a good spot for it at the house somewhere," said Kluber, "but I haven't been sitting around planning things out in my mind."

Kluber, 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA last year, has thought about this year's rotation.

"The young arms we have are very exciting," he said. "For the majority of the second half last year, we showed what we were capable of. But we have to do it over the course of an entire season. It's 162 games not 81."

Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, T.J. House and Danny Salazar posted a 2.95 ERA after the All-Star break. It was the second lowest ERA in the big leagues behind Washington's 2.74.

After last season pitching coach Mickey Callaway talked about the Indians lightening Kluber's workload during spring training because he pitched a career high 235 2/3 innings in 2014. Kluber said he did not think any changes were necessary.

"Our game plan going into this is to stick what I've done in the past because I feel that puts me in a good spot once the season starts," said Kluber.