After having one of the best second halves of any pitcher in recent memory, Cubs ace Jake Arrieta was named National League Cy Young Award winner on Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Arrieta, who finished the season 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP, allowed just four earned runs in his last 88 1/3 innings during the regular season. He received 17 of 30 first-place votes and 169 overall points in what was a close race with Dodgers teammates Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw.
MORE: Why SN's Ryan Fagan voted for Greinke | Eight best pitchers who never won a Cy Young
"My buddy just popped a bottle of Champagne on me, and it might have been his first time because he didn't do a very good job," Arrieta joked in an interview with MLB Network. "I'm a little relieved to know how it all played out."
The Cubs this year had the NL Rookie of the Year (Kris Bryant), the NL Manager of the Year (Joe Maddon) and now the Cy Young Award winner.
"I was really excited to see those guys win their awards," Arrieta said. "We had an amazing season, and it gives us something to build on. This game's very difficult, so we'll go back to the drawing board and improve next season."
Greinke finished second with 147 total points (10 first-place votes), and Kershaw was third with 101 points (three first-place votes). Pirates ace Gerrit Cole finished fourth with 40 points and Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer rounded out the top five with 32 points.