by Steve Carney

A great 2012 season has led David Price to the top of the mountain in pitching.

The Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Wednesday won his first Cy Young Award, given annually to the best pitcher in each league.

Upon  hearing he had won the award Price said," It's a huge honor it was the closest A.L. race since it was a tie, so for me to get the nod to win this award is very humbling."

He went on to talk about his passion for the game." I don't do this for the paycheck, I don't do this to be an average big leaguer, I want to leave my mark on baseball, that's why I do it. He went on to say," When people think of baseball, and people think about pitching, I want them to think about David Price."

Price, 27, was one of two American League pitchers to reach the 20-win mark, finishing with a 20-5 record in 31 starts.  He also led the American League in earned run average (2.56), and finished in the top ten in innings pitched (8th with 211.0), strikeouts (6th with 205), complete games (tenth with 2), and shutouts (tied for seventh with one).

The 2011 Cy Young Award and MVP winner Justin Verlander finished second, and Angels ace Jered Weaver came in third

Rays Manager Joe Maddon gave his take on Price winning the award, David's consistency was incredible all year he pretty much nailed it, he might of had two tough starts all year. The level of competition he pitches at the opposition and how well he's done against really good teams in very difficult venues also, that has to be considered at some point also."

Maddon hopes that seeing Price's individual success rubs off on the rest of the team," It definitely motivates the rest of the group when your able to have a front row seat like these other pitchers have had, and have seen first hand what it takes and how it looks to win this particular award it's got to wet their appetite to be in the hunt to do the same thing." 

Meanwhile, Rays closer Fernando Rodney finished in fifth place. and received a first-place vote.

Rodney also gained Maddon's attention," I'm really happy Fernando got at least one first place vote. I was curious to see how that all worked out, because here's a guy who pretty much had the best year in Major League Baseball as a relief pitcher, so he deserves some kind of recognition."

Final Vote (first place votes in parentheses)

1. David Price, TB (14): 153 pts.
2. Justin Verlander, DET (13): 149 pts.
3. Jered Weaver, LAA (0): 70 pts.
4. Felix Hernandez, SEA (0): 41 pts.
5. Fernando Rodney, TB (1): 38 pts.
6. Chris Sale, CHW (0): 17 pts.
7. Jim Johnson, BAL (0): 5 pts.
8. Matt Harrison, TEX (0): 2 pts.
9. Yu Darvish, TEX (0): 1 pt.