Johnson Wins 4th Straight Cy Young

NEW YORK (AP) _ Randy Johnson won his record-tying fourth straight National League Cy Young Award on Tuesday, a unanimous pick over Arizona teammate Curt Schilling. <br><br>Johnson will earn an additional

Tuesday, November 5th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Randy Johnson won his record-tying fourth straight National League Cy Young Award on Tuesday, a unanimous pick over Arizona teammate Curt Schilling.

Johnson will earn an additional $4 million because of the award.

He received all 32 first-place votes and 160 points from a panel of the Baseball Writers' Association of America to win his fifth Cy Young Award, one short of Roger Clemens' record.

Schilling was runner-up for the second straight season, getting 29 second-place votes and three thirds for 90 points. Atlanta closer John Smoltz was third with 21 points.

Johnson matched Greg Maddux (1992-95) as the only pitchers to win four straight Cy Youngs and is the NL's first unanimous winner since Maddux in 1995. Johnson and Schilling became the first pitchers to finish 1-2 in Cy Young voting in consecutive years.

The Big Unit went 24-5 with a 2.37 ERA and 334 strikeouts, becoming the first major leaguer since Boston's Pedro Martinez in 1999 and the first NL player since the Mets' Dwight Gooden in 1985 to win pitching's triple crown.

The 39-year-old Johnson led the major leagues in strikeouts for the ninth time. He also led the majors in innings (260) and complete games (eight), and led the NL in lowest opponents' batting average (.208).

Schilling went 23-7 with a 3.23 ERA, 316 strikeouts and just 33 walks in 259 1-3 innings. Schilling, who has never won a Cy Young, was 21-5 with a 2.77 ERA though Aug. 31, while Johnson was 19-5 with a 2.63 ERA.

Johnson went 5-0 with a 0.66 ERA in September, while Schilling was 2-2 with a 6.19 ERA. On Sept. 20, Schilling allowed eight runs for only the third time and a career-high 14 hits in 9-4 loss to Colorado at Coors Field.

NL West champion Arizona was 55-15 when Johnson or Schilling started, 43-49 the rest of the time. The defending World Series champion Diamondbacks lost to St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs.

By winning the award, Johnson earned a $1 million bonus on top of his $12.35 million salary. In addition, his 2003 salary automatically increased from $12 million to $15 million.

His first Cy Young Award came with Seattle in 1995.

Schilling earned a $250,000 bonus for finishing second. His salary was $10 million.