Warren Spahn Award

Warren Spahn Award
Warren Spahn in his pitching delivery.
Warren Spahn in 1953
SportBaseball
LeagueMajor League Baseball
Awarded forBest left-handed pitcher
Presented byOklahoma Sports Museum
History
First award1999
Most recentBlake Snell (SD)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Warren Spahn Award is presented each season by the Oklahoma Sports Museum to the best left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). The award is named after Warren Spahn, who holds the MLB record in wins for a left-handed pitcher with 363.[1] The Warren Spahn Award was created in 1999 by Richard Hendricks, the founder of the Oklahoma Sports Museum, to honor Spahn, who resided in Oklahoma.[2] The award was presented at the Masonic Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma until 2009, when the Bricktown Rotary Club became a sponsor of the award.[2] Since 2009, the award is presented at the annual Warren Spahn Award Gala, hosted by the Bricktown Rotary Club of Oklahoma City at the Jim Thorpe Museum every January.[1]

The award has been won by 14 different pitchers. The winner is chosen based on rankings, which are based on wins, strikeouts, and earned run average.[1][2] The most recent recipient is Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres. Randy Johnson received the first four awards from 1999 through 2002. He attended the awards ceremony due to his respect for Spahn, who called him personally to ask him to attend.[2] CC Sabathia (2007–2009), Johan Santana (2004, 2006), Clayton Kershaw (2011, 2013, 2014, 2017), and Blake Snell (2018, 2023) are also multiple Warren Spahn Award winners. Johnson (1999–2002), Santana (2004, 2006), Sabathia (2007) and Kershaw (2011, 2013, 2014), and Snell (2018, 2023) also won the Cy Young Award, given annually to the best pitcher in each league, in years they won the Warren Spahn Award.[3] Santana (2004, 2006), Sabathia (2007), Kershaw (2011, 2013, 2014), and Keuchel (2015) won the Pitcher of the Year Award, given annually to the most outstanding pitcher in each league, in years they won the Warren Spahn Award.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

There has been one tie-break in the Warren Spahn Award's history, which occurred when Sabathia defeated the Houston Astros' Wandy Rodríguez to earn his third consecutive award in 2009.[11] The tie-break was decided based on winning percentage.[12]

  1. ^ a b c "Jon Lester takes lead in Spahn Award Watch" (PDF) (Press release). The Warren Spahn Award. September 22, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Carlson, Jenni (January 26, 2010). "The changing face of the Warren Spahn Award". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  3. ^ "Cy Young Award winners". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "Pitcher of the Year winners". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  5. ^ "Johan Santana Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ^ "CC Sabathia Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "Clayton Kershaw Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "Baseball Awards Pitcher of the Year". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Keuchel 2015 Award was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lester 2016 Award was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "New York Yankees' CC Sabathia wins Warren Spahn Award". ESPN.com. ESPN. December 8, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  12. ^ "CC Sabathia Wins Battle for 2009 Warren Spahn Award: First tiebreaker in award history gives Sabathia his third consecutive win" (PDF) (Press release). The Warren Spahn Award. October 26, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2011.