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The passings thread's nod to Vida Blue got me thinking about Cy Youngs.
Blue's 1971 Cy Young win over future Met Mickey Lolich foreshadowed Fernando Valenzuela beating out former/future Met Tom Seaver a decade later. All the hype and excitement of the eventual winner's incredible start overshadowed the runner-up's great finish and comparable, arguably slightly superior totals. The same could be said on a lesser scale for the contours of future Met Randy Jones vs. current Met Jerry Koosman in '76. Jones' first half was a sensation (if not a phenomenon like the others mentioned) and he had apparently pulled too far ahead in the voters' minds for them to be changed.
Opposite direction? Two years that come to mind are '88 when Danny Jackson was talked up as the N.L. Cy fave until there was no holding back future Met (and imminent Met nightmare) Orel Hershiser, whose unsurpassed finish completely obliterated David Cone's similar sprint to the end; and '86 when Valenzuela and Mike Krukow gave way to the former Met Mike Scott express.
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