NEW YORK — Cliff Lee won the American League Cy Young Award in a runaway Thursday, capping a dominant comeback season that made him the second consecutive Indians left-hander to earn the coveted prize.
“It feels a lot better than it felt in ’07,” Lee said. “I want to win this Cy Young again. I want to make a habit of it.”
Demoted to the minors last year, Lee went a major league-best 22-3 this season with a 2.54 ERA. He received 24-of-28 first-place votes and 132 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was a distant runner-up with four first-place votes and 71 points.
Lee became the third Cleveland pitcher to win a Cy Young, following Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry in 1972 and CC Sabathia last year.
Johnson a free agent
PHOENIX — Randy Johnson filed for free agency after failing to reach a contract agreement to return to the Diamondbacks.
The left-hander is five wins shy of 300 and “hopes to find a team where he can continue to pitch at a high level and contribute to another world championship,” agents Barry Meister and Alan Nero said.
Johnson, 45, made $16 million last year and went 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA. He struck out 173.
Footnotes.
The Cubs acquired reliever Kevin Gregg from the Marlins in exchange for minor- league pitcher Jose Ceda, a move that appears to end Kerry Wood’s career with Chicago.
• The Yankees acquired Nick Swisher from the White Sox for pitching prospect Jeff Marquez and infielder Wilson Betemit. The teams also swapped minor-league right-handers, with Chicago receiving Jhonny Nuñez and New York getting Kaneoka Texeira.
• Twins manager Ron Gardenhire agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2011.
The Associated Press
