In what falls in the “yeah, duh” category, Steve Carlton has been named the National League’s Cy Young award winner. Voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, the award goes to the best pitcher in each league.
It was a formality, really. Carlton led the majors in wins with 23 and was the only pitcher in either league who won 20. His 286 strikeouts, 19 complete games and six shutouts also led both leagues, so it is not surprising that Carlton, who received 20 of a possible 24 first place votes, won the award.
| Player – Tm | Pts | 1st | W | L | SO | SV | IP | ERA |
| Steve Carlton, PHI | 112 | 20 | 23 | 11 | 286 | 0 | 295.2 | 3.10 |
| Steve Rogers, MON | 29 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 179 | 0 | 277.0 | 2.40 |
| Bruce Sutter, STL | 25 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 61 | 36 | 102.1 | 2.90 |
| F Valenzuela, LAD | 25 | 1 | 19 | 13 | 199 | 0 | 285.0 | 2.87 |
| Phil Niekro, ATL | 18 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 144 | 0 | 234.1 | 3.61 |
| Greg Minton, SFG | 4 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 58 | 30 | 123.0 | 1.83 |
| J Andujar, STL | 1 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 137 | 0 | 265.2 | 2.47 |
| Gene Garber, ATL | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 68 | 30 | 119.1 | 2.34 |
| Mario Soto, CIN | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 274 | 0 | 257.2 | 2.79 |