Tarik Skubal added many accolades to his name for the first time in 2024. Now, he’ll add the top pitching award to his mantle.
The Detroit Tigers ace was named the American League Cy Young Award winner for the 2024 season on Wednesday, beating finalists Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals) and Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians) for the honor. He won all 30 first-place votes, becoming the third consecutive unanimous AL Cy Young winner after Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees) and Justin Verlander (Houston Astros).
Skubal, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Wednesday, had a memorable breakout year that lifted Detroit into the playoffs after a surprising late-season run. He went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA, a 0.922 WHIP and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched over 31 starts.
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Skubal’s win total, ERA and strikeout total were the most in the American League, making him (along with Chris Sale in the National League) the first pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown in a 162-game season since former Tigers ace Verlander and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Clayton Kershaw did so in their respective leagues in 2011. Verlander won the Cy Young Award for his play that season as Skubal is the sixth Tigers player to ever win the award.
After a dominant regular season, Skubal was nails in his first two postseason starts. He didn’t allow a run in either outing, shutting out the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the wild-card round before pitching seven innings of shutout ball in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Guardians. However, Skubal didn’t pitch well in the Tigers’ series-deciding loss to the Guardians, allowing five runs.
Still, Skubal’s 2024 season was as good as any pitcher’s, especially when you consider the circumstances. The lefty was out from the middle of the 2022 season through the middle of the 2023 season due to flexor tendon surgery.
As Skubal and the Tigers surprised in 2024, Wednesday’s vote wasn’t much of one. They’ll hope that’s the case moving forward, and they’ll likely have one of the game’s best pitchers for the foreseeable future to help.
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