Peavy

SAN DIEGO — Padres general manager Kevin Towers had a good feeling about Jake Peavy before he'd even seen the right-hander throw a pitch.

Towers sat next to Peavy in the stands at Class A Fort Wayne back in 2000 as the 19-year-old charted pitches during a game. The GM was beyond impressed with the youngster's observations.

"I swear when I was done talking to Jake, you would have thought you were talking to Greg Maddux," Towers said.

That's a pretty good comparison. After winning the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday in a unanimous vote, Peavy has more in common with Maddux than just being Padres teammates.

While Peavy needs to win three more Cy Youngs to match Maddux, this one was pretty impressive for the 26-year-old ace.

After leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts — pitching's version of a Triple Crown — Peavy received all 32 first-place votes and finished with 160 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Arizona sinkerballer Brandon Webb, last year's winner, was a distant runner-up with 94 points. He was listed second on 31 ballots and third on one.

"What a day," Peavy said after getting a standing ovation from a few hundred season-ticket holders who watched a news conference at Petco Park. "To bring this award home to San Diego, we don't get a lot of recognition. I'm dang glad to be a San Diego Padre."