Can a Closer Win the Cy Young with High ERA?

Eric Gagne wins the 2003 NL Cy Young Award. His ERA? 1.20.

Dennis Eckersley wins the 1992 AL Cy Young. His ERA? 1.91.

Rollie Fingers wins the 1981 AL Cy Young. His ERA? 1.04.

The pattern is clear: Closers who win the Cy Young don't have "high" ERAs. They have historically elite ERAs.

So can a closer win the Cy Young with a high ERA — say, 3.50 or 4.00?

No. The data shows it's virtually impossible.

Here's why, and what it actually takes for a closer to win baseball's most prestigious pitching award.

The Short Answer: No, and Here's the Data

Since the Cy Young Award began in 1956, only 9 relief pitchers have won it:

A "high" ERA for a closer would be 3.50-4.00. No closer with that ERA has ever come close to winning the Cy Young.

Complete List of Reliever Cy Young Winners

Year	Pitcher	Team	IP	Saves	ERA
1974	Mike Marshall	Dodgers (NL)	208.1	21	2.42
1977	Sparky Lyle	Yankees (AL)	137.0	26	2.17
1979	Bruce Sutter	Cubs (NL)	101.1	37	2.22
1981	Rollie Fingers	Brewers (AL)	78.0	28	1.04
1984	Willie Hernández	Tigers (AL)	140.1	32	1.92
1987	Steve Bedrosian	Phillies (NL)	89.0	40	2.83
1989	Mark Davis	Padres (NL)	92.2	44	1.85
1992	Dennis Eckersley	A's (AL)	80.0	51	1.91
2003	Eric Gagne	Dodgers (NL)	82.1	55	1.20

Key observations:

• 8 of 9 had ERAs under 2.50
• 6 of 9 had ERAs under 2.00
• The "worst" ERA (2.83) still ranked elite
• Most winners also won MVP (Fingers, Hernández, Eckersley)

Why Closers Need Elite ERAs to Win

The Cy Young Award is supposed to go to the best pitcher in the league. Closers face structural disadvantages that force them to be absolutely dominant to compete:

1. Innings Pitched Disadvantage

Starters pitch 180-220 innings. Closers pitch 60-80 innings.

To overcome the innings gap, closers must be OVERWHELMINGLY better per inning. A 2.50 ERA closer isn't impressive next to a 2.75 ERA starter who threw 200 innings.

The closer needs a sub-2.00 ERA just to be competitive.

2. WAR (Wins Above Replacement) Bias

Modern voters look at WAR. Closers rarely accumulate high WAR totals because they pitch so few innings.

Example from 1992:

• Dennis Eckersley (winner): 2.9 WAR, 1.91 ERA in 80 IP
• Roger Clemens: 8.8 WAR, 2.41 ERA in 246.2 IP
• Mike Mussina: 8.2 WAR, 2.54 ERA in 241 IP

Eckersley won despite having less than one-third the WAR of Clemens or Mussina. How? His ERA was absurdly low AND there wasn't a clear dominant starter.

3. Save Totals Matter, But ERA Matters More

Every reliever Cy Young winner led (or nearly led) their league in saves. But saves alone don't win the award.

You need BOTH:

• Elite save total (35-55 saves)
• Elite ERA (sub-2.00 preferred, 2.50 maximum)

Without the ERA, you're just "a good closer." With the ERA, you're "historically dominant."

The "Weak Starter" Requirement

Every reliever Cy Young winner benefited from a weak starting pitcher field that year.

Research by Alan and James Kaufman found two requirements for a reliever to win:

Examples of Weak Starter Years

1981 (Rollie Fingers wins):

• Strike-shortened season (103-111 games per team)
• No starter reached 200 innings
• Top starter: Steve McCatty, 2.33 ERA in 185.2 IP (good but not dominant)

1984 (Willie Hernández wins):

• Best Tigers starter: Jack Morris, 19 wins, 3.60 ERA
• League leader: Mike Boddicker, 20 wins, 2.79 ERA (solid but beatable)
• No runaway ace

2003 (Eric Gagne wins):

• Top competition: Jason Schmidt (2.34 ERA, 207.2 IP), Mark Prior (2.43 ERA, 211.1 IP)
• Both excellent, but neither historically dominant
• Gagne's 1.20 ERA and 55 saves too overwhelming

Modern Era: Why Closers Can't Win Anymore

The last reliever to win the Cy Young was Eric Gagne in 2003. That's over 20 years ago.

Why has it been so long?

1. Voters Prioritize Innings and WAR

Modern voters use advanced stats. WAR heavily favors starters because of innings pitched.

A closer with 70 IP and a 0.90 ERA might have 3.0 WAR. A starter with 220 IP and a 2.70 ERA might have 7.0 WAR.

Voters see that gap and vote for the starter.

2. Starters Are Too Good

The modern game features ace starters like Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, and Sandy Alcantara posting ERAs under 2.50 over 200+ innings.

For a closer to beat that, they'd need a 0.50 ERA over 75 innings. That's essentially impossible.

3. Closers Pitch Fewer Innings Than Ever

In the 1980s, elite closers threw 100-140 innings. Willie Hernández threw 140.1 IP in 1984.

Modern closers throw 60-75 innings. That's half the workload.

Less innings = less value = harder to win.

4. The Reliever Award Now Exists

MLB created the Reliever of the Year Award (now Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman awards) to honor elite closers separately.

This gives voters permission to keep Cy Young awards for starters. "The closer already has their own award."

What Would It Take for a Closer to Win Now?

For a closer to win the Cy Young in the modern era, they'd need:

This combination is incredibly rare. That's why it hasn't happened since 2003.

Could Emmanuel Clase (2024) Have Done It?

Emmanuel Clase put up historically great closer numbers in 2024:

• 0.59 ERA in 61.1 IP
• 38 saves in 41 opportunities
• 0.67 WHIP

Those are the best rate stats of any reliever Cy Young winner ever. So did he win?

No. Tarik Skubal dominated with 228.1 IP, 2.39 ERA, and 8.7 WAR. The innings and WAR gap was too large.

If Clase had those exact stats in a year with weak starters (no one above 6.0 WAR), he might have won. But not in 2024.

The Bottom Line

Can a closer win the Cy Young with a high ERA?

No. The highest ERA ever for a reliever Cy Young winner is 2.83 (Steve Bedrosian, 1987).

What it takes:

• Sub-2.00 ERA (8 of 9 winners)
• League-leading save total (40-55 saves)
• Weak starting pitcher competition
• MVP consideration (shows dominance beyond just stats)
• High innings for a closer (100+ ideal, 80+ minimum)

Why it's nearly impossible now:

• Voters prioritize WAR (favors starters)
• Ace starters too dominant (7+ WAR common)
• Closers pitch fewer innings (60-75 IP vs 100-140 in the 1980s)
• Reliever of the Year Award now exists

The harsh reality:

A closer with a 3.50 ERA won't even get a single Cy Young vote, no matter how many saves they have. A closer with a 2.50 ERA needs everything to break perfectly to have a chance.

The Cy Young has become a starter's award. For a closer to win, they need to be historically great (sub-1.50 ERA) AND face a historically weak field of starters.

That hasn't happened since Eric Gagne in 2003, and it might not happen again for decades.

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