Johnson Easy Winner of Third Cy Young

Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks was the overwhelming winner of the National League Cy Young Award on Tuesday, his second consecutive award and third of his career.

Johnson, who won the 1995 American League award with the Seattle Mariners, received 22 of 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America. Johnson, 37, also received seven seconds and two thirds for 133 points.

“There was a lot of competition this year,” Johnson said. “Every year as I get older, it is harder to put the numbers up. The biggest gratification I get is doing it at an age when a lot of people thought I might be over the hill.”

Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves finished second with 64 points, getting four firsts, 12 seconds and eight thirds, and teammate Greg Maddux was third with 59 points. Robb Nen of the San Francisco Giants was fourth with 20 points, followed by Darryl Kile of the St. Louis Cardinals (eight) and Kevin Brown of the Dodgers (four).

Johnson joined Maddux and Sandy Koufax as the only back-to-back winners in the National League. Maddux won four in a row from 1992-95 and Koufax won in 1965 and 1966. The Big Unit also became the eighth pitcher to win the award three times. Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox won his third Monday.

Roger Clemens has five, followed by Steve Carlton and Maddux with four each. Koufax, Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer also have three.

After going 14-2 with a 1.80 earned-run average before the All-Star break, Johnson faltered down the stretch as Arizona fell out of the pennant race. He won only five times in his last 16 starts, going 5-5 with a 3.81 ERA after the break.

“I wish I had finished stronger, but I still feel that from start to finish it was a pretty good year,” Johnson said.

*

Darryl Strawberry was released from a Tampa, Fla., jail and ordered back to a drug treatment center with an electronic monitor locked to his ankle.

Strawberry served 21 days of a 30-day sentence for violating his house arrest in October and using drugs. He is to return to HealthCare Connections of Tampa, a residential facility that caters to drug- and alcohol-addicted professionals.

The eight-time all-star also is undergoing chemotherapy treatments for colon cancer.

Strawberry, 38, will be under the watch of others in the program who are obligated to report him if he tries to leave again. He was arrested Oct. 25 after leaving the center for four hours to use crack cocaine and Xanax with a friend.

*

Free agent Ellis Burks, who batted .344 for San Francisco last season, visited with Cleveland Indian owner Larry Dolan and General Manager John Hart, and toured Jacobs Field.

The Indians began aggressively pursuing free agents Monday when they withdrew their seven-year, $119-million offer to re-sign Manny Ramirez. They have also contacted the agent for Tony Gwynn. Burks, 36, is expected to meet with the Texas Rangers later this week.

The Colorado Rockies appear to be the front-runner to sign Burks, who reportedly is seeking a three-year contract. He also has been contacted by the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

*

Facing losses estimated at up to $45 million, the Diamondbacks will not be able to make any significant free-agent signings and are eliminating 15 administrative positions as part of a $10-million reduction in operation costs during the off-season.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

NL Cy Young

Voting, with pitchers receiving five points for each first-place vote, three points for second and one point for third:

*--*

Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total Randy Johnson, Arizona 22 7 2 133 Tom Glavine, Atlanta 4 12 8 64 Greg Maddux, Atlanta 3 10 14 59 Robb Nen, San Francisco 2 2 4 20 Darryl Kile, St. Louis 1 0 3 8 Kevin Brown, Dodgers 0 1 1 4

*--*