The Cy Young Award is the top pitching honor Major League Baseball and every year two players — whether first time winners or repeat honorees – get to add their name to the growing list of stars to be forever immortalized in the history of America's favorite pastime.
But when it comes to alumni from D2 Baseball to win the award, the list dwindles from the near one hundred winners to just a miniscule two. But these two players from Clarion and New Haven are very much part of history as the players from D1 or high school beginnings.
Take a look at the pair of winners below and the seasons that won them the glorious honor the likes of Sandy Koufax, Denny McClain, Roger Clemens, and other all-time greats have earned in their careers.
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Pete Vuckovich — Clarion
| Year | W-L | ERA | IP | K | FIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 18-6 | 3.34 | 223.2 | 105 | 4.03 |
| Career Avg. | 13-10 | 3.66 | 210 | 127 | 3.63 |
Vuckovich — also famous for his role in Major League – won his only Cy Young honor following the 1982 season in which he led the league in winning percentage for the second-straight year.
The former Clarion Golden Eagle won the award after his age-29 season and in the fourth-to-last season of his career.
Oddly enough, the Brewers star won the award with a less-than-dazzling strikeout to walk ratio, punching out 105 batters but giving the free pass to 102 over the year, which isn't likely to occur in the modern game.
Nonetheless, Vuckovich is immortalized in Brewers and MLB history for his honor, and became the first D2 alum to win the award.
He'd later become known for playing Clu Haywood in the movie Major League and has since served as a scout for numerous clubs.
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Steve Bedrosian — New Haven
| Year | W-L | SV | ERA | K | FIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 5-3 | 40 | 2.83 | 74 | 3.79 |
| Career Avg. | 7-7 | 16 | 3.38 | 80 | 3.86 |
Becoming just the sixth player to break the 40-save threshold in 1987, Bedrosian — like Vuckovich — also won the Cy Young following his age-29 season, joining only three other relievers to do it since — Mark Davis in 1989, Dennis Eckersley in 1992 and Eric Gagne in 2003.
A starter just two seasons prior with the Braves, the former New Haven Charger reinvented his game by moving to the closer role when he was traded to the Phillies.
This was the only time Bedrosian ever received a vote for the Cy Young, but he made it count.
The right-hander would pitch for nine more seasons, including three more in a return to Atlanta, and tallied 184 saves in all. His son, Cam, is now in the Los Angeles Angels organization.
