Yankees ace Gerrit Cole wins American League Cy Young unanimously

Gerrit Cole is a Cy Young winner — finally.

The New York Yankees ace was awarded the 2023 American League Cy Young on Wednesday, earning all 30 first-place votes. 

The former No. 1 overall pick has been one of the game's best pitchers since debuting with the Pirates in 2013, earning six All-Star nods and placing in the top five of the Cy Young race four times in the previous five seasons. Cole even had a pair of runner-up finishes. Now, he's objectively the best in his league. 

The 33-year-old hurler has received Cy Young votes following seven campaigns, including a narrow loss to then-Astros teammate Justin Verlander in 2019.

There was nothing for voters to wrestle between this year, as Cole went went 15-4 while leading the AL in starts (33), ERA (2.63), shutouts (two), innings pitched (209), ERA+ (165) and WHIP (0.981). He was the only pitcher to appear on every ballot.

Cole also recorded his 2,000th career strikeout in May, becoming the third-fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach that mark in terms of innings pitched. In July, he started in the All-Star Game for the first time. 

The 2023 season was ultimately a bust for the Yankees, as they missed the postseason and nearly finished below .500 for the first time since 1992. But Cole continued to live up to the nine-year, $324 million contract he received prior to the 2020 season, which made him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history.

Cole beat out finalists Sonny Gray of the Twins and Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays.