The Chicago White Sox had a lot of great pitching performances in 2021. There were some pitchers that came out of nowhere to be awesome and some that you sort of expected greatness from. Lance Lynn sort of fits in both categories because we knew he was awesome but he went above and beyond. As a result, he is a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award.
Lynn is nominated along with Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees and Robbie Ray of the Toronto Blue Jays. It is an awesome trio of pitchers and all three of them deserve it. It is up in the air who will actually win it but all three deserve tons of recognition.
Lance Lynn dominated his way through the regular season, helping the White Sox win the American League Central Division for the first time since 2008. There is no doubt that he was one of the team’s true MVPs this year.
He had an ERA of 2.69 with a WHIP of 1.070. He had 176 strikeouts and an 11-6 record. All of this accumulated a 5.4 WAR which is outstanding. He had as good of a single season as any White Sox pitcher in history. This is a team with a lot of great pitchers in recent memory but not many received much Cy Young love.
Dominant on the mound.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 9, 2021
Lance Lynn has been named an A.L. Cy Young Award finalist! pic.twitter.com/5H1vUFeNGJ
Lance Lynn is a CY YOUNG AWARD FINALIST!
— Southside Showdown (@SoxShowdown) November 9, 2021
Lance Lynn was incredibly important for the Chicago White Sox in 2021.
In the middle of the summer, the White Sox didn’t wait for another second to make sure that 2021 wasn’t a one-and-done for Lynn. They signed him to a contract extension that will keep him around for a couple of more years. It is a smart move as he can continue to help this team get better as his career winds down.
There was an element to Lynn’s game in 2021 that went beyond pitching. He had an incredible attitude which helped the White Sox win every time he was on the mound. When he would go out there and have a big strikeout to end the inning, he would let out a big roar and show everyone just how much winning means to him.
Lynn had a couple of memorable moments in 2021 but it would be wrong not to mention the Field of Dreams game. It certainly wasn’t his best outing of the season but it was a really good one nonetheless. It is meaningful because that game was so special for a lot of people and he was the starting pitcher that allowed the White Sox to win.
Hopefully, Lynn is able to come back in 2022 and put up similar numbers. He is going to be a part of a great rotation that has a lot of talent. There are also a lot of young players that can learn a thing or two from him. It would be nice to see Lynn win the award but he will be praised all offseason regardless of what happens.