Mike McCormick
Here's the forgotten Cy Young winner who deserves more recognition. McCormick captured the 1967 National League Cy Young Award with a 22-10 record and 2.85 ERA for San Francisco, becoming the first Giants pitcher to win the honor. His peak 1960 season shows why he was special — that 2.70 ERA represented a 141 ERA+, meaning he was 41% better than league average.
The lefty's 16-year career tells the story of steady competence rather than fleeting brilliance. His 134-128 record and 3.73 ERA reflect durability over dominance, logging 2,380 innings across nearly 500 appearances. McCormick struck out 1,321 batters when strikeouts weren't as common, making him a reliable workhorse during baseball's transitional era.
What makes McCormick intriguing is his longevity in an era when pitchers threw complete games routinely. His Cy Young season came at age 28, proving that steady improvement could still be rewarded in a league increasingly focused on power pitching.
Career · Hitting
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | NY1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | — |
| 1957 | NY1 | 24 | 22 | 0 | 3 | .273 | .534 | — |
| 1958 | SF | 42 | 54 | 0 | 3 | .222 | .491 | — |
| 1959 | SF | 47 | 66 | 0 | 3 | .106 | .276 | — |
| 1960 | SF | 40 | 88 | 0 | 3 | .182 | .427 | — |
| 1961 | SF | 40 | 80 | 0 | 4 | .188 | .439 | — |
| 1962 | SF | 29 | 28 | 1 | 1 | .107 | .381 | — |
| 1963 | BAL | 25 | 46 | 1 | 1 | .174 | .447 | — |
| 1964 | BAL | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .333 | — |
| 1965 | WS2 | 45 | 41 | 0 | 1 | .073 | .265 | — |
| 1966 | WS2 | 41 | 66 | 2 | 5 | .212 | .549 | — |
| 1967 | SF | 41 | 84 | 1 | 5 | .119 | .336 | — |
| 1968 | SF | 38 | 58 | 1 | 6 | .103 | .384 | — |
| 1969 | SF | 32 | 66 | 1 | 4 | .136 | .383 | — |
| 1970 | SF | 32 | 30 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .394 | 55 |
| 1971 | KC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Career | 487 | 738 | 7 | 39 | .156 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | NY1 | 3 | 6.7 | 0 | 1 | 9.45 | 42 | 4 | 2.550 |
| 1957 | NY1 | 24 | 74.7 | 3 | 1 | 4.10 | 93 | 50 | 1.487 |
| 1958 | SF | 42 | 178.3 | 11 | 8 | 4.59 | 84 | 82 | 1.413 |
| 1959 | SF | 47 | 225.7 | 12 | 16 | 3.99 | 98 | 151 | 1.325 |
| 1960 | SF | 40 | 253.0 | 15 | 12 | 2.70 | 141 | 154 | 1.158 |
| 1961 | SF | 40 | 250.0 | 13 | 16 | 3.20 | 126 | 163 | 1.240 |
| 1962 | SF | 28 | 98.7 | 5 | 5 | 5.38 | 73 | 42 | 1.591 |
| 1963 | BAL | 25 | 136.0 | 6 | 8 | 4.30 | 80 | 75 | 1.456 |
| 1964 | BAL | 4 | 17.3 | 0 | 2 | 5.19 | 69 | 13 | 1.673 |
| 1965 | WS2 | 44 | 158.0 | 8 | 8 | 3.36 | 104 | 88 | 1.228 |
| 1966 | WS2 | 41 | 216.0 | 11 | 14 | 3.46 | 102 | 101 | 1.130 |
| 1967 | SF | 40 | 262.3 | 22 | 10 | 2.85 | 116 | 150 | 1.147 |
| 1968 | SF | 38 | 198.3 | 12 | 14 | 3.58 | 83 | 121 | 1.235 |
| 1969 | SF | 32 | 196.7 | 11 | 9 | 3.34 | 108 | 76 | 1.281 |
| 1970 | SF | 32 | 99.0 | 5 | 4 | 6.18 | 63 | 49 | 1.566 |
| 1971 | KC | 4 | 9.7 | 0 | 0 | 9.31 | 37 | 2 | 1.966 |
| Career | 484 | 2380.4 | 134 | 128 | — | — | 1321 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.