David Price of Tampa Bay Rays, R.A. Dickey of Mets are Cy Young Award winners

By Mike Fitzpatrick, Associated Press

NEW YORK — David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets won baseball’s Cy Young awards on Wednesday.

Price barely beat out 2011 winner Justin Verlander for the American League prize in one of the closest votes ever. Dickey was an easy choice for the NL honor in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The 38-year-old Dickey became the first knuckleball pitcher to win the Cy Young Award, an achievement mentors such as Hall of Famer Phil Niekro are quite proud of.

‘‘I am not a self-made man by any stretch of the imagination,’’ Dickey said on MLB Network. ‘‘This is a victory for all of us.’’

Runner-up two years ago, Price was the pick this time by the slimmest of margins. He received 14 of 28 first-place votes and finished with 153 points to 149 for Verlander, chosen first on 13 ballots.

Other than a 1969 tie between Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain, it was the tightest race in the history of the AL award.

Rays closer Fernando Rodney got the other first-place vote and came in fifth.

‘‘It means a lot,’’ Price said. ‘‘It’s something that I’ll always have. It’s something that they can’t take away from me.’’

Price went 20-5 to tie Jered Weaver for the American League lead in victories and winning percentage. The 27-year-old lefthander had the lowest ERA at 2.56 and finished sixth in strikeouts with 205.

Verlander, also the league MVP a year ago, followed that up by going 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA and pitching the Tigers to the World Series. He led the majors in strikeouts (239), innings (238 ⅓ ) and complete games (six).

Price tossed 211 innings in 31 starts, while Verlander made 33. One factor that might have swung some votes, however: Price faced stiffer competition in the rugged AL East than Verlander did in the AL Central.

‘‘I guess it’s a blessing and a curse at the same time,’’ Price said. ‘‘There’s not an easy out in the lineups every game. It feels like a postseason game.’’

Weaver came in third with 70 points, but was listed second on a pair of ballots. The righthander threw a no-hitter and had a 2.81 ERA in his first 20-win season but missed time with injuries and totaled only 188 ⅔ innings for the Los Angeles Angels.