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.
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