Rick Porcello's Cy Young Award came with an epic group hug from proud family members
Red Sox right-hander
On Wednesday, he was rewarded for his breakout campaign with a AL Cy Young Award:
Your @officialBBWAA 2016 AL #CyYoung Award winner: @RedSox hurler @RickPorcello. pic.twitter.com/o0XVP33CZx
— MLB (@MLB) November 16, 2016
Porcello beat out Tigers ace
Needless to say, when Porcello and his family finally heard the good news, they ... were pretty excited:
A hug like that is totally appropriate considering the strong turnaround Porcello had in '16. His 3.15 ERA bested the 3.43 mark he posted in '14, which was his previous career-low. Porcello threw three complete games and his string of quality starts put him in elite company in Sox lore:
Porcello’s 26 quality starts were the 2nd-most by any Red Sox in the live ball era (since 1920), trailing only Roger Clemens’ 27 in 1990.
— Red Sox Notes (@SoxNotes) November 16, 2016
Porcello talked about the personal improvement he went through en route to Wednesday's big news:
All in all, it was a pretty good day for the Porcello family and the Red Sox, who are now reaping the benefits of a pitcher who led both the AL and NL in wins with 22 -- something made possible by a ridiculous repertoire like this:
Congratulations on the hug, Rick ... and also that award, too.
Esurance MLB Awards week concludes Friday on MLB Network and MLB.com at 8 p.m. ET with the MLB Awards. Categories include Best Major Leaguer, Hitter, Pitcher, Rookie, Executive and Manager.