What is the Cy Young Award?
The Cy Young Award honours the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. Created in 1956 and named for the pitcher who won more games than anyone in the sport's history, it was a single award covering both leagues until 1967, since when one has been presented in each of the American and National Leagues.[1] [2]
Who votes?
The Baseball Writers' Association of America. Two writers from each league city vote, each ranking five pitchers on a weighted ballot, and the full voting record is published — which is why unanimous wins are separately noted in the sport's history. The same electorate decides the league MVP, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year.[1] [3]
Who won it most recently?
For 2025, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers took the American League award for a second consecutive season — the fifth AL pitcher to repeat, and the second to do it with Detroit — while Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League award unanimously, having been Rookie of the Year the previous season.[2] [4]
Why does it matter?
Because it is the position-specific honour in the world's leading baseball league: two winners a season out of several hundred pitchers under major-league contract, decided by the writers who cover them, on a ballot with a seventy-year continuous record.[1] [3]
References
- MLB — Cy Young Award. Accessed August 2026.
- MLB.com — Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes are 2025 Cy Young Award winners. Accessed August 2026.
- BBWAA — awards and voting. Accessed August 2026.
- Baseball Reference — MLB Cy Young Award winners. Accessed August 2026.