Mind you, Corey Kluber is a deserving American League Cy Young Award winner. I was mildly surprised that he edged out Felix Hernandez for the hardware, however. (ESPN had also predicted a King Felix triumph.)

Both starters were durable, having taken the mound 34 times. Hernandez threw 236 innings for the Mariners while Kluber gave the Indians 235 2/3.

Hernandez posted a better strikeout-to-walk ratio: 5.39 to 5.27. He also had a better ERA: 2.44 to 2.14.

So what may have tipped the scales in favor of Cleveland’s hurler?

Do you want the new-school stat reasoning? Kluber led King Felix in both Baseball-Reference WAR, 7.4 versus 6.8, and Fangraphs WAR, 7.3 versus 6.2.

Or is old-school stat reasoning your cup of tea? Kluber led King Felix in wins, 18 to 15.

David Schoenfield of ESPN’s SweetSpot suggests another factor may have been at work:

How much do you factor in that Kluber had a big September — when five of his six starts came against the Twins, Astros, Rays and White Sox, five teams out of the race and playing their share of September call-ups. How much do you factor that in arguably the biggest start of Hernandez’s career, in the final week in Toronto, he got bombed and gave up eight runs?

More here.

By the way, congrats to Clayton Kershaw, the unanimous choice of the BBWAA voters for the Cy in the National League.