How Snell's 2023 compares with Padres' 4 Cy Young seasons

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Left-hander Blake Snell is the heavy favorite to become the 2023 NL Cy Young Award winner on Wednesday (watch live at 3 p.m. PT on MLB Network), which would make him the fifth Padres pitcher to earn the Cy Young honor.

Let’s take a look at how his dominant campaign ranks with San Diego’s Cy Young seasons, in countdown fashion:

5) Mark Davis, 1989

The only reliever in franchise history to claim the Cy Young hardware, the left-hander had 44 saves in 44 opportunities and a 1.85 ERA in 70 games. His bWAR of 4.4 didn’t measure up to Orel Hershiser’s 7.0, but voters of the era heavily weighted the Dodgers ace’s 15-15 win-loss record.

Davis’ Cy Young season was the final one in a stretch in which voters opted for a reliever (in either league) in seven of 16 seasons. Only two relievers have won since: Dennis Eckersley in the AL in 1992 and Eric Gagne in the NL in 2003.

4) Gaylord Perry, 1978

Perry became the first pitcher to earn a Cy Young Award in each league with a big first season in San Diego. The veteran right-hander was 21-6 with a 2.73 ERA while helping the Padres to the first winning season in franchise history.

Phil Niekro’s 10.0 bWAR with a bad Atlanta team dwarfed Perry’s 4.3, but voters weren’t ready to overlook a 19-18 win-loss mark. The spitballer was miles ahead of the knuckleballer in the balloting.

3) Blake Snell, 2023

After a slow start, Snell moved into 1968 Bob Gibson territory, posting a 1.20 ERA over his final 23 starts. The season as a whole is nearly as impressive. Not since he was the AL Cy Young Award winner for Tampa Bay in 2018 had Snell shown mastery of all four weapons: fastball, curveball, changeup and slider.

He went 14-9 and led the NL in ERA (2.25), pitchers’ bWAR (6.0), ERA+ (182) and hits per nine innings (5.75). He issued the most walks (99) but overcame that with 234 strikeouts (second in the NL) and a .152 opponents’ batting average with runners in scoring position (best in the Majors by a large margin).

2) Randy Jones, 1976

Truth be told, 2023 Snell was more effective than 1976 Jones … when Snell was on the mound. The “left-hander with the Karl Marx hairdo,” as beloved broadcaster Jerry Coleman once called him, simply was on the mound a lot more. Jones earns the nod here because of his workload -- 315 1/3 innings and 25 complete games. To put that in perspective, that’s more innings than Snell’s past two seasons combined.

Jones went 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA and a 4.7 bWAR while becoming the first face of the franchise. Mind you, crediting Jones for his workload is not to judge how Snell has been used. Times have changed. Jones paid a price for pitching so much. He suffered nerve damage that required surgery and never approached his peak again.

1) Jake Peavy, 2007

A lively fastball with movement, a deceptive delivery, a plus changeup and a devastating slider with late bite -- Peavy had it all going in 2007. The results speak for themselves.

The right-hander won the pitching Triple Crown by leading the NL with 19 wins, a 2.54 ERA and 240 strikeouts. Arizona’s Brandon Webb had the bWAR edge, 6.4 to 6.2, but the traditional stats ruled the day. Peavy earned all 32 first-place votes.