Cy Young Remains in New Providence

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ - They say "pitching wins championships" and the New Providence Reds are the perfect example of such a statement. In a season which saw a decline in team BA, Scott Horowitz remained the backbone of the team every time he stepped on the bump. The right hander logged 9 starts and compiled a 6-2 record in the regular season tossing 58 2/3 IP with 68 strikeouts (10.43 K/9), a 1.99 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP (32 H, 20 BB). The Cy Young voting does not include the postseason, of which Scotty remained dominant. Starting 4 of the 5 Reds playoff games (including both games in the Championship Series vs the North Jersey Yellow Jackets), Scott was a perfect 4-0 with 23 Ks in 34 IP to go along with a 1.32 ERA and 0.91 WHIP (23 H, 8 BB). Combining regular season with postseason, Scott tossed an incredible 92 2/3 innings (13 starts) going 10-2 with 91 Ks, a 1.75 ERA and 0.90 WHIP (55 H, 28 BB). Congratulations Scott on your 2016 NJABL North Intermediate Cy Young.

The North Intermediate Division was stock piled with dominant pitching, which makes Horowitz's back-to-back Cy's even more impressive. Scotty narrowly beat out the North Jersey Yellow Jackets duo of Mike Brizzolara & John Simeone, as well as Ironbound Rays ace Jonathan Dominguez and Giancarlo Cifelli of the Montclair Bulldogs. We'd like to congratulate those 4 pitchers on tremendous seasons, and show you just how close the 2016 Cy Young race really was.

An interesting way to evaluate pitching stats is called "Cy Young Predictor" (CYP). In The Neyer/James Guide To Pitchers -- co-authored by Bill James and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer presents a method, based on past results, to predict Cy Young balloting. It is figured by the following formula: Cy Young Points (CYP) = ((5*IP/9)-ER) + (SO/12) + (SV*2.5) + Shutouts + ((W*6)-(L*2)) + VB (Victory Bonus is a 12-point bonus awarded for leading your team to the division championship)

Brizz and Simeone received the 12 point VB for leading the Yellow Jackets to a North East Division title, and Cifelli the 12 point VB for leading the Bulldogs to a North West Division title. Despite the added bonuses, Horowitz claimed the highest CYP narrowly beating Brizz 59.26 to 59.14.