New York ? Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday, capping a satisfying comeback from shoulder surgery that jeopardized his career only two years ago.

After going 21-5 with a 2.83 earned-run average, Carpenter received 19 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 132 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He beat out Florida lefty Dontrelle Willis, becoming the first Cardinals pitcher to claim the honor since Hall of Famer Bob Gibson in 1970.

“I can’t believe I won,” Carpenter said. “Two years ago, I didn’t know if I was ever going to pitch again.”

Willis, who was 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA, was listed first on 11 ballots, second on 18 and third on three for 112 points. Seven-time winner Roger Clemens got the other two first-place votes and came in a distant third at age 43.

The Rocket led the majors with a 1.87 ERA, but a lack of run support from his NL champion Houston Astros limited Clemens to a 13-8 record, which surely cost him votes.

Balloting for all BBWAA awards is conducted at the end of the regular season and excludes the playoffs, when Carpenter went 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in three starts. St. Louis was eliminated by the Astros in the NL championship series.

The right-hander began his career with Toronto on a late 1990s staff that included three other Cy Young Award winners: Clemens, Roy Halladay and Pat Hentgen.

After compiling a 49-50 record in his first six seasons, Carpenter had surgery in September 2002 to repair a tear in his pitching shoulder, and the Blue Jays wanted to send him back to the minors. He refused the assignment and chose to become a free agent before signing with St. Louis.

Carpenter missed the 2003 season while rehabilitating his shoulder and was forced to have another operation in July to remove scar tissue.