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Big Day For R.A.? Mets' Dickey Hoping For Cy Young Honors

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In the third sentence of his memoir, a humble R.A. Dickey said he'd "never lead the league in strikeouts."

It's time for a revision.

The Mets starter had a National League-best 230 strikeouts in 2012, just one piece of evidence in his strong case for the NL Cy Young Award.

"It's something fantastic to celebrate with the fan base," said Dickey, according to the Mets' official website. "I tell you what, I've never had an experience like I did in the final three or four games this year, with people coming to the park and the show of support. To be able to almost as a gift give that back to those guys would be a real treat for me. It would mean a lot to the Mets organization, too."

"So there's a lot at stake, and what kid doesn't want to win a Cy Young, right?" he added. "So I'm hopeful we'll get a shot at it."

The knuckleballer has a 33 percent shot at taking home the hardware, though many would say he's favored over finalists Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez.

Dickey led the NL with five complete games, three shutouts, 233 2/3 innings pitched and 27 quality starts. His 20 wins were just one shy of Gonzalez's total, and accounted for 27 percent of the Mets' 74 victories. His 2.73 ERA was bested only by Kershaw (2.53).

"What it means is that people consider you the best at your craft, and that is a pretty special thing," said Dickey, according to the New York Daily News. "It would be an honor among honors, but the truth of it is, for me and my life, I just want to hold it well."

The award will be announced Wednesday night by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. If he's named the league's top pitcher, a new chapter for his book may be in order.

Mets fans hope Dickey's ongoing contract talks will then result in an extension -- not a trade.

In Flushing, that would be a happy ending.

Call him C.Y. Dickey? Be heard in the comments below!

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