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Santana sweeps Cy Young vote

Minnesota Twins pitcher Johan Santana led the American League with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts, while posting a 20-6 record. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Ronald Blum Associated Press
Minnesota Twins pitcher Johan Santana led the American League with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts, while posting a 20-6 record. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

NEW YORK — As joyous fans celebrated by honking car horns in Caracas, Johan Santana sounded overwhelmed. He became the first Venezuelan to win a Cy Young Award, and not only that, he was a unanimous choice.

“This is like a dream come true,” he said after earning the American League honor Thursday. “I’m a little surprised that I ended up the season where I ended up the season.”

The Minnesota Twins’ left-hander received all 28 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America,

Santana, who went 20-6 and led the A.L. with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts, became the first unanimous Cy Young winner since Arizona’s Randy Johnson two years ago and the first in the A.L. since Boston’s Pedro Martinez in 2000. He is the 18th unanimous winner overall, the seventh in the A.L.

Curt Schilling, 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA in his first season with the Red Sox, received 27 second-place votes and one third for 82 points. Mariano Rivera of the Yankees, who led the major leagues with a career-high 53 saves, received the other second-place vote and 24 thirds for 27 points.

“I’m surprised this has been a unanimous decision,” Santana said. “I thought this was going to be a real tough race.”

Santana traveled Thursday morning from his hometown of Tovar Merida to Caracas. President Hugo Chavez planned to congratulate him today.

“It’s on national TV,” Santana said. “Hopefully, in a couple of hours I’ll be addressing the country and letting them know how I feel.”

Santana was 13-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break.

“I expected it; with the numbers he had he couldn’t fail,” said Luis Aparicio, a Venezuelan voted to the Hall of Fame in 1984. “He’s going to continue winning.”

Voting was conducted before the start of the postseason, when Schilling beat the Yankees in Game 6 of the A.L. Championship Series and St. Louis in Game 2 of the World Series despite pitching with a dislocated ankle tendon held together by sutures. Boston went on to sweep St. Louis to win the World Series for the first time since 1918.

“It was amazing,” Santana said. “To me, he was just a hero. He did great things for Boston and for baseball.”

Schilling, who led the major leagues in wins, has never won a Cy Young Award. He was runner-up for the third time, tying Johnson, a five-time winner, and 1957 winner Warren Spahn for the most second-place finishes.

Santana had a breakout season after going 12-3 for the Twins in 2003. Coming off elbow surgery, he was 2-4 in 12 starts before beating the New York Mets on June 9.

After helping lead Minnesota to his third straight A.L. Central title, he beat the Yankees in the opener of their first-round playoff series and, pitching on three days’ rest, left Game 4 with a 5-1 lead before New York rallied against the Twins’ bullpen.