Reds: 5 instances Cincinnati pitchers almost won the NL Cy Young

1. Tom Seaver (1981)

Winner:  Fernando Valenzuela

They didn’t call him Tom Terrific for nothing. By the time Tom Seaver arrived in Cincinnati in June of 1977, his legacy had been firmly secured. He had already captured three Cy Young Awards pitching for the New York Mets as well as a trio of ERA titles while leading the league in strikeouts five times. Needless to say, Seaver had little to prove individually by the time he became a member of the Reds.

During the 1981 season, Seaver put together the last of his truly great seasons in his remarkable Hall of Fame career. Making 23 starts in the strike-shortened season, Seaver led the National League with 14 wins against only two defeats and posted an excellent 2.54 ERA. Seaver’s terrific numbers would earn him the final of his 12 All-Star appearances while finishing 10th in the MVP voting.

Despite Seaver’s heroics, it was not enough to lead the Cincinnati Reds to the postseason. Due to the player’s strike, MLB divided the season into two halves and despite finishing with the best overall record in baseball, the Reds failed to finish atop the standings in either half thus denying them a trip to the playoffs.

As fantastic as Seaver was in 1981, he was not good enough to topple Fernando Mania. Dodgers rookie left-hander Fernando Valenzuela took baseball by storm. Leading the NL in strikeouts, innings pitched, starts and complete games, the 20-year-old Mexican could not be denied the Cy Young.

Valenzuela would finish his rookie campaign 13-7 with a sterling 2.48 ERA. Not only would Fernando capture the senior circuit’s top pitching award he would also win Rookie of the Year while placing fifth in the MVP balloting. As if that wasn’t enough, he would lead the Dodgers to their first World Series title in 16 years capping a truly remarkable season.

Seaver would pitch one more season for the Reds before heading back to the Mets for the 1983 campaign. Throughout his five and a half years in the Queen City, Tom Terrific would make two All-Star appearances and twice finish in the top five in the Cy Young voting as a Redleg.