Blake Snell Nears Baseball Greatness: One Day Away From Joining Legends Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez in Elite Company

After a few tough years, Blake Snell was back to his scary best in 2023. Leading the league across most pitching stats, Snell nearly matched his 2018 numbers. If one remembers correctly that was the year he won the AL Cy Young Award – could the 30-year-old be looking at another title? There are more than a few players who have won it multiple times but it’s still something rare that might put him in a special league of legends. With only one day to go for that announcement, will he make history?

Playing for the San Diego Padres, who had a mediocre season, the “Snellzilla” was roaring at the opponents. Now a free agent, Snell is looking to sign a contract of around $135 million. Could he actually get a double bonanza this offseason by winning the NL Cy Young Award to create history and then signing a big contract as well?

Blake Snell can have both the AL and NL Cy Young Awards in a rare achievement

In total, 21 players have won multiple Cy Young Awards in MLB history. Roger Clemens is in the top with 7. But there is one rarer record, which only 6 players have managed – winning the title in both the AL and NL. Snell won his first award while he was in the Tampa Bay Rays of AL in 2018. Now if he wins it again with the Padres, the star pitcher will have an award in both the leagues. But who has done something similar until now?

Roger Clemens, Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer. Snell could possibly become the 7th member of this elite club in a day. His season was special as Snell was one of the few bright spots in the overall tough 2023 of the Padres.

Blake Snell pitched more than 180 innings last season and had his career-best 234 strikeouts. While his ERA of 2.25 was the best in the league, he also had a stellar record for most walks given in the season with 99. Still with such elite overall numbers he seems like a frontrunner in the competition.

With such a good record, Snell should have at least theoretically looked for one of the biggest contracts in his free agency but a few worries have dwindled the chances of getting one.

Snell’s free agency troubles

While a player of Snell’s quality could have asked for more than $200 million, his demand in the market does not warrant such a huge amount. The frontrunner of the Cy Young Award has suffered from injury problems for the past few years, especially in his adductor. This has left many teams worried about his longevity, a big selling point for any pitcher.

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With Snell, there is a risk of those injuries piling up into something big down the line. There’s still hope for the Snellzilla with the New York Yankees and New York Mets interested in him. But he’d have to sign a short-term contract instead of a long-term one.

Ultimately, it’s going to be a tough few hours trying to wait for the results.

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