Dave Stieb was snubbed for the AL Cy Young Award because of the team he was on
The 1982 Toronto Blue Jays went 78-84. So, despite Dave Stieb being the best pitcher (he led AL pitchers in WAR and was second-highest in WAR in the AL in general behind AL MVP Robin Yount), Stieb didn’t win the Cy Young Award. In fact, he came in 4th, despite receiving the second-most first place votes.
Instead, Milwaukee’s Pete Vuckovich, who didn’t lead the league in a single category, won it because the Brewers won the AL. Vuckovich was ahead of Stieb in one category: wins (18 compared to Stieb’s 17).
1983 comes along and Toronto Blue Jays starter Dave Stieb was, arguably, even better.
Stieb made 36 starts and dropped his ERA down to 3.04, which made his ERA+ better (142). He had 14 complete games, four shutouts, 278 innings pitched, a 3.55 FIP, and increased his strikeout rate by nearly 30 percent.
All of those stats were among the top five and most in the top three. He also led AL pitchers in WAR (7.0).
The Blue Jays were a better team too, as they went 89-73. How many Cy Young Award votes did he get? Zero. Not even a third place vote (at the time, writers could vote for three pitchers).
Who won it? Chicago White Sox starter LaMarr Hoyt, who was ahead of Stieb in three areas: wins (24 to 17), losses (10 to 12), and WHIP (1.024 to 1.137). Stieb was ahead of him in every other category.