Unanimous Twice Over: Cam Schlittler and Jacob Misiorowski Sweep the Cy Young Vote as Baseball Turns to MVP Night

Baseball's writers did not need much debate this year. Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees and Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers were named the 2026 Cy Young Award winners on Wednesday night, and neither man left a single first-place vote on the table ^[1][2].

Schlittler was the unanimous choice in the American League, topping all 30 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America for a perfect 210 points ^[1]. About half an hour later, Misiorowski was announced as the unanimous pick in the National League, the 17th time an NL pitcher has swept the BBWAA vote and the second year in a row after Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes did it in 2025 ^[2].

For two young arms in just their second big-league seasons, it was a coronation ^[2]. And for those of us who love this game for its hard work and patience, it was a reminder that greatness is still built one pitch, one start and one season at a time.

Schlittler Joins a Long Line of Yankee Aces

Toronto's Dylan Cease finished a distant second in the American League with 110 points, Cleveland's Parker Messick was third with 84, and Tampa Bay's Drew Rasmussen was fourth with 72 ^[1]. Boston's Sonny Gray placed fifth ^[1]. It was Cease's second runner-up finish; he also came in second in 2022 with the Chicago White Sox ^[1].

Schlittler earned every vote. He led the American League with a 1.95 ERA ^[5]. MLB.com reported the right-hander went 14-6 with 239 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings, led the league in wins above replacement by FanGraphs' measure and held opponents to an AL-best .244 on-base percentage ^[4]. He allowed one run or fewer in 21 starts, the most of any pitcher in the majors ^[4].

The award puts him in rare company in the Bronx. Schlittler is the seventh Yankee to win a Cy Young, following Bob Turley, Whitey Ford, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry, Roger Clemens and Gerrit Cole, and only the third to win it unanimously, joining Guidry in 1978 and Cole in 2023 ^[1]. His was the 14th unanimous Cy Young in American League history ^[1].

One note for fans who remember October: the ballots were turned in before the postseason began, so the playoffs played no part in the voting ^[1].

Misiorowski's Season for the Record Books

If Schlittler's year was dominant, Misiorowski's was historic. According to MLB.com, the Brewers right-hander led all big-league starters with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts, 12.98 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.80 WHIP, and opponents hit just .157 against him, the lowest mark for a starter in any full season on record ^[2]. He also led the majors in fielding-independent pitching and ERA+ ^[2]. MLB.com reported he touched 105.5 mph, a speed no starter had reached since pitch tracking began in 1988 ^[2].

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CBS Sports reported he worked 174 2/3 innings with 44 walks and struck out 37.9 percent of the hitters he faced, the best rate in baseball ^[3]. Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez finished second in the National League with 99 points, edging Atlanta's Chris Sale by a single point ^[3].

The highlights stacked up all summer. Misiorowski set a club record with 11 strikeouts in a season opener, went 5-0 with a 0.23 ERA in May, and on June 13 struck out 15 in a game where a lone Kyle Schwarber single was all that stood between him and a perfect game, MLB.com reported ^[2].

Then came October. CBS Sports noted he posted a 1.89 ERA in four postseason starts as Milwaukee won the first World Series title in franchise history ^[3]. MLB.com reported he is only the seventh pitcher to win a World Series-clinching game and a Cy Young in the same year, a list that includes Sandy Koufax, Orel Hershiser and Randy Johnson ^[2].

He is the fourth Brewer to win the award, after Rollie Fingers, Pete Vuckovich and Corbin Burnes, and one of seven pitchers ever to win a Cy Young in his second season, a group that now includes Schlittler as well ^[2].

His manager is keeping him grounded. "He's not a finished product, by any stretch," Pat Murphy said, according to MLB.com ^[2].

Why It Matters, and What Comes Next

There is something worth celebrating here beyond the numbers. In an offseason already crowded with talk of contracts and free-agent bidding, two young pitchers simply did their jobs better than anyone else, every fifth day, from spring into fall, and every voter agreed. That is the kind of steady excellence fathers point out to their sons in the bleachers.

Awards week wraps up tonight. The BBWAA's Most Valuable Player Awards will be announced at 7 p.m. Eastern on MLB Network, and MLB.com described Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez and Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong as the heavy favorites ^[6]. Whoever wins, it will be the first time since 2020 that neither Aaron Judge nor Shohei Ohtani takes home an MVP ^[6].

Earlier this week, Detroit's Kevin McGonigle and Cincinnati's Sal Stewart were named Rookies of the Year, and Murphy and the White Sox's Will Venable won Manager of the Year honors ^[6].