On Thursday, the Baseball Writers' Association of America named the Los Angeles Dodgers' Eric Gagne the winner of the National League Cy Young Award. Gagne finished the season with 55 saves and a 2-3 record on a 137:20 K:BB with 37 H and 2 HR in 82.1 IP for a 1.20 ERA. The 27-year-old did not blow a save during a regular season game and has not blown a save since August 26th of 2002, which has earned him several consecutive saves records.

Born in Montreal, Eric Serge Gagne signed with the Dodgers in 1995 as a non-drafted free agent. After a season at A Savannah in the South Atlantic League, Gagne underwent Tommy John surgery and did not play in 1997. Returning from the surgery, he again took up starting. The 6'2" right-hander made his major league debut as the Dodgers' starter in Florida on September 7, 1999. While he'd spent no time in AAA, L.A. appeared willing to let him win a spot in their rotation in the spring of 2000. A poor showing in Spring Training led the Dodgers to have him start the season in AAA, though they recalled him in mid-April. He returned to the minors for another short stint in June but spent most of the year struggling to pitch effectively in the majors. L.A. moved him to the pen for a bit in 2001, however the year otherwise progressed similarly to 2000. One of the complaints against Gagne was that his lack of efficiency prevented him from pitching deep into games, so when the Dodgers found themselves with other options for the rotation and an open closer position in 2002, they gave Gagne an opportunity to switch roles. He quickly adapted to his new job and immediately excelled, providing us with a preview of 2003.

Only four writers didn't place Gagne first on their ballots and only two of those left him off completely. Jason Schmidt received two of the four firsts that didn't go to Gagne, and Mark Prior received the other two. Schmidt finished second in the balloting with Prior a close third. Russ Ortiz was the only other pitcher to receive any votes.