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Chicago Cubs: A Cy Young finalist twirls gem after gem
There was plenty of standout performances by Chicago Cubs players in their championship season. One was Kyle Hendricks in what ended up seeing him as a Cy Young finalist for his efforts in 2016.
Hendricks quietly had the lowest ERA in the majors among qualifiers at 2.13 in 190 innings (30 starts). Along with that he posted a 3.20 FIP, 0.98 WHIP and 8.1 K/9. This season also included a career-high 4.2 fWAR, .205 average against and 48.4% groundball rate. He finished third in Cy Young voting that season. This really helped put The Professor on the map.
Going just beyond the regular season we cannot forget his efforts in the 2016 postseason, including that pennant-clinching game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. His ERA in the World Series (two starts) was 1.00. It really is a shame his efforts did not get him an All Star nod at least, but on the other hand World Series ring is better. He was a huge part of that run.