Cam Schlittler's Subway Series display: Is he an MVP?

Do the Yankees believe Schlittler can be an MVP?

The topic was quietly brought up when manager Aaron Boone fielded a question about how valuable Schlittler has been given the injuries the Yankees endured with Judge and within their rotation.

“I think valuable’s a good word,” Boone said. “He might be the MVP. He’s been awesome. Just an awesome season and hopefully a lot left in the tank.”

If Schlittler actually beats out Yordan Alvarez and Junior Caminero for the MVP, he would be the first pitcher to win it since Clayton Kershaw for the 2014 Dodgers.

In his MVP season, Kershaw was 21-3, a record that resembles Dwight Gooden’s 24-4 mark in 1985. Kershaw also led the NL with a 1.77 ERA and did it in 198 1/3 innings while totaling 232 strikeouts and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings rate.

“It’s been done before, right?” said Cody Bellinger, who joined the Dodgers in 2017 and won the MVP two years later. “That was a pretty outstanding year for Kersh, and Schlitt’s been doing such an amazing job. That’d be very exciting.”

Elsewhere, a prominent voice offered a different take, pointing out how the Cy Young award is essentially the MVP for mound performances.

“He’s definitely pitching like an MVP, but they’ve got a Cy Young Award for a reason — best pitcher in the game,” Judge said. “So he’s got my vote, definitely, for the Cy Young.”

What other pitchers won an MVP?

Kershaw is the last pitcher to win MVP but in the American League Justin Verlander is the last to win the award. Verlander won it for the 2011 Tigers by winning 24 games, striking out 250 and posting 2.40 ERA, becoming the first AL pitcher to post those kinds of numbers.

When Verlander won it, it was the first since 1992 and that year Dennis Eckersley’s 51 saves warranted him the MVP, and it was part of his turnaround from a starting pitcher acquired by the A’s in a quiet trade from the Cubs ahead of the 1987 season.

If there is a similar comparison to make with Schlittler in terms of service time and a past pitching MVP it might be Roger Clemens, who was in his third season in 1986 with the Red Sox. Clemens won 24 games and pitched to a 2.48 ERA in 254 innings but also struck out 238, which is similar to what Schlittler’s season total will be and this occurred in a season when he won his first 14 decisions.

Two years before Clemens, Willie Hernandez won for late-game domination for the 104-win Tigers, mostly because he pitched 140 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. That is a number only reached once since 1984 by Mark Eichorn going 14-6 in 157 innings over 69 appearances for the 1986 Blue Jays in his rookie season.

The list also includes Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers (1981), Bob Gibson (1968) and Sandy Koufax (1963) along with Don Newcombe (1956) and Vida Blue (1971).

Each pitcher won for dominance and considering how Schlittler has become the ace for the Yankees, it will be interesting to see if he actually wins the award or how close he comes to winning it.