Last week, Tigers ace Justin Verlander lost out on the Cy Young to Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello thanks in part, to being left off two ballots. In response, supermodel and Verlander fiancee Kate Upton had a blow up on Twitter. Through Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Upton wanted to clarify her argument on Wednesday.
.@kateupton responded: "My comments have nothing to do with Rick personally. They had to do with what I see as a flawed voting system...
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 23, 2016
"...I hope the attention my comments are generating motivates positive change in MLB, for instance not allowing voters to send in their...
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 23, 2016
"...ballot a week before the season is finished." Note: Verlander and Porcello were teammates with the #Tigers from 2009 to '14.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 23, 2016
Upton references that one voter from the Tampa Bay chapter submitted his ballot with more than one week remaining in the season. She has a good point. I never understood why voters were even given this option. This year was my first vote (I had NL Cy Young) and I didn't finish my ballot until the day after the season ended. The awards are supposed be for the full season, not the first 24 weeks of it.
In Porcello's last two starts, he had a 4.38 ERA and gave up 16 hits in 12 1/3 innings. In Verlander's last two starts, he had a 0.61 ERA with 20 strikeouts and only two walks in 14 2/3 innings.
So maybe wait until the end of the season before making a decision? Especially if it's close, every game matters. Regardless of whether you're Team Porcello or Team Upton/Verlander here, we could certainly all agree on that, right?
