In the National League, a 20-year-old kid named Dwight Gooden was making headlines for his stunning season, one of the best ever. But the American League had a bright young star of its own, 21-year-old Bret Saberhagen of the Royals. Though he wasn't as impressive as Gooden, Saberhagen won the Cy Young Award, and was the World Series MVP, leading the Royals to their first ever Series victory.

         Dave Stieb was often regarded as an unlucky pitcher, and this year was a good example of why. He led the AL in ERA for a team (the Blue Jays) that won 99 games, yet his record was only 14-13. How is that possible? How can the best pitcher on the league's best team have such a mediocre record? Part of the answer has to do with the fact that Dennis Lamp and Tom Filer were a combined 18-0. Next year, Stieb hurt his arm; he came back to pitch well, but never again had the dominance or stamina to be a Cy Young contender.
         Three soft tossing left-handers of different generations had fine years. Ron Guidry of the Yankees no longer threw the hard fastballs and sliders that devastated opposing hitters. He learned to become a crafty pitcher, and learned quite well. Charlie Leibrandt of the Royals had his best year, combining with Saberhagen to form a terrific one-two punch. And Jimmy Key had his first year as a starter for Toronto, teaming up with Stieb to lead the Jays to their first division title.
         Bert Blyleven was 34, and pitched for the dreadful Indians. He was terrific, and managed to escape with a winning record. Blyleven finished third in the vote (behind Saberhagen and Guidry). Though I'm impressed with Blyleven's season, I think both Leibrandt and Stieb were a little bit better.