Stewart Wants Series, if Not Cy Young Award

OAKLAND —  Mention the Cy Young Award to Dave Stewart, and he puts on his game face.

His brow curls, his eyes squint and his lips purse.

Over the last three years, Stewart has won more games than any major league pitcher, and the only thing he has to show for it is congratulations.

Stewart was 21-9 this season and became the only pitcher this decade to have three consecutive 20-victory seasons.

Catfish Hunter’s Mark

The last Oakland pitcher to do it was Jim (Catfish) Hunter, who won 20 or more from 1971 through 1974.

For a while this season, it looked as if Stewart might finally get his Cy Young. But Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen started to pitch brilliantly around July and finished 23-6 with a major league low 2.16 earned-run average.

“I pretty much exclude the Cy Young from my plans, to be honest,” said Stewart, who will open the American League playoffs against Toronto on Tuesday night.

Stewart was 20-13 with a 3.68 ERA in 1987 and lost in the voting to Boston’s Roger Clemens, who was 20-9 with a 2.97 ERA.

Last year, Stewart led the A’s to the AL pennant with a 21-12 record but lost out to the 24-7 mark by Minnesota’s Frank Viola.

“I’ve had two shots at it, and I felt that the voting wasn’t done fairly as far as Dave Stewart was concerned,” the right-hander said.

“Winning the 20 games for the third time, I’ve accomplished something that doesn’t need to be voted on, and it’s something I’ve done for my own personal satisfaction.”

Stewart said he has met the goals he set--except for one.

Wants a Series Win

“I want to win the World Series,” Stewart said. “We had a lot of injuries this year but came together as a team, and I think that will help. I hope it will.”

Right-hander Dave Stieb (17-8) will start for the Blue Jays, who lost seven of 12 games against the A’s this season. Oakland had a 4-2 edge at home, and the teams split six games at Toronto.

Oakland is trying to become the only team during the 1980s to reach the World Series in two consecutive seasons. Toronto never has been to the World Series.