CLEVELAND – Cleveland Indians ace pitcher Corey Kluber was named the Professional Athlete of the Year at the 18th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Downtown Wednesday night.
During the 2017 season, Kluber, who first brought home the American League Cy Young Award in 2014, struck out 265 hitters against just 36 walks with 141 hits and 51 earned runs allowed over 203.2 innings of work. Kluber posted an 18-4 record and American League-best 2.25 ERA on the way to leading the Indians to a second straight AL Central Division Championship.
The AL Pitcher of the Month for June, August and September, Kluber struck out at least seven batters in 16 of his last 19 games of the regular season.
Kluber was named the American League Pitcher of the Month in June after a strong showing following his return from the disabled list.
After being hampered by a lower back strain, Kluber finished off a strong performance throughout the month with a 12-strikeout showing over eight innings of work in a 5-1 win over the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field on June 29.
The win was Kluber’s fourth in the month of June and marked the sixth straight game in which he went at least six innings.
Kluber struck out 25 batters over his last two starts in June and registered at least 10 strikeouts in all but one of his six June starts.
The win against the Rangers marked the 30th time in Kluber’s career in which he collected 10 or more strikeouts. Kluber’s four straight 10-plus strikeout performances tied an Indians record set by National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller during the 1938 and 1939 seasons.
In a tough-luck 1-0 loss to the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field on July 4, Kluber struck out 10 hitters, and in doing so, set a new Indians record for the most consecutive 10-plus strikeout performances (five).
Despite taking his third loss of the season, Kluber allowed only one walk, scattered five hits and one earned run and registered the 10 strikeouts over eight innings of work. Of Kluber’s 107 pitches, 73 found the strike zone.
Throughout the month of August, Kluber posted a 5-1 record with 54 strikeouts and only six runs allowed over 46.0 innings of work. Although Kluber surrendered six home runs, he allowed only 10 earned runs and 23 hits.
As a follow-up to the strong August showing, Kluber went 5-0 in six September starts as the Indians built an AL-record 22-game winning streak and clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season. Kluber allowed only four earned runs, three home runs and three walks against 50 strikeouts over 43.0 innings of work.
After returning from the DL in late May, Kluber registered at least 50 strikeouts in each of the last four months of the season, including a season-high 64 in June, 56 in July, 54 in August and 50 in September.
Kluber won the Best Pitcher Award at the 2017 Esurance MLB Awards, the American League Outstanding Pitcher Award at the 2017 Players Choice Awards, and was a runaway winner of the AL Cy Young Award for the second time in his career.
The 31-year old Kluber became the first pitcher in Indians history to win multiple AL Cy Young awards by tallying 204 points, including 28 of a possible 30 first-place votes, which was good enough to beat Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale and New York Yankees ace Luis Severino.
Kluber earned the honor over his Indians teammate, all-star infielder Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James and 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns.
