Shane Bieber and Trevor Bauer bonded as teammates with the Cleveland Indians and stayed in touch after Bauer was traded last year to the Cincinnati Reds.
Before this season started, Bauer sent a text to Bieber that the right-handers had the same Las Vegas odds for the Cy Young Award.
“I said ... why don’t we go two for two — or something like that?” Bieber said.
Photo: AP
Bieber on Wednesday night was a unanimous winner in the American League (AL) and Bauer became the first pitcher to take home the National League (NL) honor for the majors’ oldest franchise.
“Nobody’s more deserving of it than him and he knows what he wants and he knows how to go out and get it,” Bieber said. “And we keep in touch. I was truly pulling for him and you know, so is my family. And I know he feels the same way, so it’s special.”
Bieber and Bauer, two California natives, made it an Ohio sweep on the mound last year.
They are the third pair of former teammates to win Cy Young Awards in the same season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, with Greg Maddux and Dennis Eckersley winning the award in 1992, and Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello in 2016.
Bieber and Bauer had neighboring lockers in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We’ve had a close relationship since then,” Bauer said. “I think he’s one of the best human beings that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in professional baseball. We talked a little bit throughout the year about how cool would it be to have ex-teammates win the award together, and here we are. So I’m really happy for him.”
Using a versatile repertoire that includes a looping curveball and wipeout slider, Bieber went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 77-1/3 innings during the shortened season.
He led the majors in ERA and strikeouts, and tied Chicago Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish for the most wins.
Bieber became the second player in Indians history to win the AL’s pitching Triple Crown, joining Hall of Famer Bob Feller in 1940.
He also was the first pitcher to lead the majors in all three categories since Johan Santana for Minnesota in 2006.
Bauer went 5-4 with an NL-best 1.73 ERA in 11 starts, helping the Reds reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Animated on the field and outspoken off it, the 29-year-old right-hander struck out 100 in 73 innings, and led the majors with two shutouts, a pair of seven-inning performances on doubleheader days.
He became a free agent after the season and turned down the Reds’ qualifying offer, but left the door open for a return.
“I haven’t thought about free agency very much yet, to be honest,” said Bauer, who is known for some unusual and progressive training methods that have helped turn him into one of baseball’s best pitchers.
“I have had a lot of stuff that I’ve been doing — trying to get my off-season underway, trying to get better at baseball,” he said.
Darvish finished second in NL voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, while New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was third, falling short in his bid for a third consecutive Cy Young Award.
Bieber was the first unanimous AL winner since Justin Verlander for the Detroit Tigers in 2011.
It was the 10th time an AL pitcher was listed first on every ballot.
Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda was the AL runner-up, followed by Toronto Blue Jays lefty Hyun Jin Ryu.
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
STRONG CONNECTION: Although she has considered switching nationalities, Garland said that if it was not for Taiwan’s support throughout her career, she would not be in Paris British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese to clinch a victory in a main singles draw of the French Open since 2020 after she outlasted the US’ Katie Volynets in Paris. The world No. 175, Taiwan’s highest-ranked female player in singles, said she would rely on her self-belief as she prepares for her second-round match at the French Open after overcoming a serious injury to qualify for a maiden Grand Slam appearance. After navigating her way through the qualifiers last week, Garland secured her first win at the main draw of a Grand Slam by battling past world No.
RSS