Major League Baseball

Padres' Blake Snell wins National League Cy Young in landslide vote

Updated Nov. 16, 2023 3:03 a.m. ET

Blake Snell doesn't have his next contract yet, but he has some hardware coming his way.

The San Diego Padres southpaw was awarded the 2023 National League Cy Young on Wednesday, earning 28 of 30 first-place votes.

It's the second such honor for Snell, who also won a Cy Young with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018. He becomes just the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win the award in both leagues, joining Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer.

While Snell joined rarefied air this season, it marked a comeback of sorts for the 30-year-old ace. After posting league-average numbers his first two seasons in San Diego (15-16, 3.79 ERA), Snell had an ERA north of 5.00 through his first 10 starts of the 2023 campaign.

But Snell dominated the final four-plus months of the season, going 13-3 with a 1.18 ERA, 180 strikeouts and a 1.046 WHIP in 130 innings over his final 22 starts. Snell finished the year with a 14-9 record, leading all of baseball in ERA (2.25), ERA+ (182) and hits per nine innings pitched (5.8) — as well as walks (99).

Snell is looking for more than just the Cy Young trophy this winter, hitting free agency at the perfect time. He's one of the top pitchers on the market this winter (No. 3 on FOX Sports' top-30 free agents) and appears to be in line for a major payday.

Fellow NL West pitchers Logan Webb of the Giants and Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks were the other two finalists for the award.