Over the years, there have been some tightly contested Cy Young Award races. Some of the best pitchers in MLB history have never won a Cy Young Award, and I will discuss three of them in this article.

Nolan Ryan

Despite his remarkable 27-year career, Nolan Ryan never won a Cy Young Award. His closest opportunity was in 1973, when he finished second to Jim Palmer. Ryan’s season stats were impressive, with a 21-16 record, a 2.87 ERA, and a staggering 393 strikeouts. This is a testament to his resilience and unwavering commitment to the game. On the other hand, Palmer finished 22-9 with a 2.40 ERA and 158 strikeouts. Palmer played on a better team; the Baltimore Orioles won 97 games, and the California Angels won 79. Ryan finished his career with 324 wins and 5,714 strikeouts, leading the MLB in strikeouts 11 times and pitching seven no-hitters.

Curt Schilling

Next up is Curt Schilling, who finished second in the voting three times. Schilling finished second to his teammate Randy Johnson twice. In 2001, Schilling was 22-6 with a 2.98 ERA and 293 strikeouts; in 2002, he went 23-7 with a 3.23 ERA and 315 strikeouts. In 2004, Schilling finished second to Johan Santana, who had a 20-6 record, a 2.61 ERA, and 265 strikeouts, while Schilling went 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA and 203 strikeouts. Schilling ended his career with 216 wins and 3,116 strikeouts.

Mike Mussina

Mike Mussina placed second in the Cy Young Award voting in 1999 and had an ERA+ of 125 or better for 12 seasons. ERA+ takes the pitcher’s ERA and normalizes it across the entire league, accounting for external factors like ballparks and opponents, with a score of 100 being the league average and 150 being 50 percent better than the league average. Mussina was consistently one of the best pitchers in baseball throughout his career, achieving double-digit wins and making at least 24 starts every season from 1992 until he retired after the 2008 season. This stretch included 11 years with at least 15 wins and finishing in the top six in Cy Young voting nine times.

Mussina was consistently pitted against the likes of Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, and Randy Johnson, making his quest for the Cy Young Award challenging. Despite this, he had an excellent career, winning 270 games and striking out 2,813 batters. Mussina was ultimately inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.