Left-hander Clayton Kershaw won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday, becoming the first Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher to be so honored since Eric Gagne in 2003 and the first Dodgers starter to win it since Orel Hershiser in 1988.

Kershaw won the award handily in balloting by a select panel of 32 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He received 27 of 32 first-place votes, three seconds and two thirds for a total of 207 points, 74 more than runner-up Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Halladay received four first-place votes, with the last one going to the Diamondbacks' Ian Kennedy.

"You never think you'll get to do, or win something like that," Kershaw said Thursday during an interview with ESPN. "It's just so special and I'm not taking it for granted. I'm just soaking it all in right now."

Kershaw attributed an improved ability to pound the strike zone as the reason for his success in what was by far the best of his four major league seasons.

"Throwing strikes is an important part of it for me,'' he said. "Being in the league three or four years and gaining consistency and experience has made me more confident throwing in the strike zone. The other part is being able to throw offspeed pitches for strikes. I threw the slider a lot more this year, and now it is easier for me to throw it for strikes if I am behind in the count or need to get back into the count.''

Kershaw, 23, tied for the National League lead in wins with 21 while losing just five times. He also led the league in both ERA (2.28) and strikeouts (248), giving him pitching's version of the Triple Crown. He also was named to his first All-Star team and pitched a perfect fifth inning in a 5-1 NL victory.