Well, sometimes taking home something is better than nothing.

MLB announced this year’s winners for the Cy Young award, awarded to the league’s best pitchers, going to Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw for the National League and Detroit Tigers’ Max Scherzer in the American League.

For Kershaw, it was close to perfect, as he was completely dominant again this past year, posting incredible numbers, with a 1.83 ERA and a league leading 232 strikeouts, while going 16-9 for the West division champs. Kershaw, was a main reason why the Dodgers’ season was memorable as they return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

No doubt Kershaw was deserving of this award and receive some praise as twitted by MLB Network:

RETWEET to congratulate @Dodgers pitcher @ClaytonKersh22 on winning the @officialBBWAA NL #CyYoung Award! pic.twitter.com/oGltK5bF78

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 13, 2013

It’s not the World Series, but Kershaw will take it. “Whether you expect to win or you don’t, just to hear your name called — it does something to you,” Kershaw said. “I’m not big on individual stats or awards or anything like that, because ultimately I think we play this game to win a World Series. No ifs, ands or buts after that. That’s the goal.”

For Max Scherzer, this was his first, as his numbers were also quite impressive, posting a strong ERA of 2.90. Scherzer, with the help of his great offense this season, led the league in wins with 21 for the Central division champs. “Once I won 20 games, I really did appreciate that moment,” Scherzer said on a conference call with reporters. “That’s such a milestone that few pitchers ever get to. The ones that have gotten there are legends in the game. Now that the season’s over, you have a chance to reflect on what you were able to actually do, because during the season you’re focused so much on winning that if you focus on yourself, it really takes away from what’s really important.” Scherzer getting equal congrats from the folks at MLB Network here:

Congrats to the @Tigers' @Max_Scherzer on winning the @officialBBWAA AL #CYYoung Award! RETWEET to show your support! pic.twitter.com/DqMLGpMpBm

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 13, 2013

Now that both of these pitchers won, the only thing left is to try to lead their respected teams back to the playoffs and win a World Series. Another Cy Young performance might be needed, but base off these guys’ track records, that might not be too difficult a task.

Image via Twitter