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Indians: Ranking all Tribe Cy Young winners from 2007 and on

By Chad Porto

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 10: Starting pitcher Corey Kluber #28 is presented his 2014 Cy Young award from former Cleveland Indians pitcher Gaylord Perry prior to the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on April 10, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio.(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 10: Starting pitcher Corey Kluber #28 is presented his 2014 Cy Young award from former Cleveland Indians pitcher Gaylord Perry prior to the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on April 10, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio.(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – JULY 5: C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on July 5, 2007. The Tigers defeated the Indians 12-3. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JULY 5: C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on July 5, 2007. The Tigers defeated the Indians 12-3. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

2007 – C.C. Sabathia

Stats: 19-7 W/L, 3.21 ERA, 4 CG, 241 IP, 209 Ks, 37 BB

C.C. Sabathia was really the start of the line of great pitchers in Cleveland. Sure, the Indians still had Jake Westbrook, and Roberto Perez (aka Fausto Carmona) was on that ’07 team, but that wasn’t a very deep rotation. Paul Byrd was the fourth starter at the time. Cliff Lee was there as well, but he was wildly inconsistent since he got called up in 2004, having an ERA of nearly 5.00 over those four years combined. Sabathia was a man unto himself.

That’s what made his run in 2007 so special, it set up the Indians as a real destination for front line pitching prospects to develop at. It wasn’t just that, but Sabathia’s season culminated in one of the best runs in franchise history, a mad dash to the ALCS, where the Indians were up 3-1 against Boston, with a date with destiny (and Colorado) in the World Series. Yet, fate would be cruel and would begin the stretch of linking the city of Cleveland to a 3-1 series in multiple sports. The Red Sox came back, winning two in Cleveland, before taking the series, and their second World Series ring in four years.

Sabathia’s season made him a big-ticket trade piece to boot, fetching the Indians a true franchise icon in Michael Brantley, and some other bums. The funniest part is, those other “bums” were actually the main pieces of the trade, while Brantley was the throw-in. That’s one hell of a “throw-in”.

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