Tarik Skubal won the American League pitching Triple Crown, and now he has the hardware to show that he was the Junior Circuit's best pitcher in 2024.
The Detroit Tigers southpaw was unanimously named the AL Cy Young winner on Wednesday night, earning all 30 first-place votes to beat out other finalists Emmanuel Clase and Seth Lugo.
Skubal paced the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228) on his way to becoming the first Detroit pitcher to claim a Cy Young Award since Max Scherzer in 2013 and the sixth winner in franchise history.
"It's pretty special. All the hard work, all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes, moments like this make it extremely worth it," Skubal said on MLB Network after the announcement. "To have the support system that I have, and the the people that are right behind me, it means a lot to have those guys in my corner."
It was quite the birthday present for Skubal, as he turned 28 on Wednesday, to cap a season in which he earned his first trip to the All-Star Game and emerged as the face of the Tigers' unlikely run to the post-season.
Skubal was one of the most efficient starters in all of baseball, striking out 30.3 per cent of hitters he faced — the second-highest mark among qualified pitchers — and walking just 4.6 per cent over 192 innings.
Using a five-pitch mix, the Hayward, Calif. native carved through opposing lineups all season long, with his high-90s fastball holding hitters to a sub-.200 batting average.
While end-of-year award voting takes place at the end of the regular season, Skubal only built on his strong campaign in October. Drafted out of Seattle University in the ninth round of the 2018 draft, the six-foot-three lefty threw scoreless outings in Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Houston Astros and Game 2 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians.
"It was a lot of fun to be a part of," Skubal said of the Tigers' run. "The last two months of our season, and even the post-season, was very special. Obviously, it comes to an end. There's only one happy team at the end of the year, but it was a tonne of fun to be a part of.
"The memories and experience will help our club going forward... It's only up from here."
Clase became the first reliever to be named a Cy Young finalist since Francisco Rodriguez did so for the Los Angeles Angels in 2008. The Guardians' closer posted a 0.61 ERA in 74.1 innings, collecting an AL-best 47 saves and earning a trip to his third consecutive All-Star Game. He finished third in the voting, receiving nine second-place votes, seven third-place votes and five other down-ballot selections.
Lugo was named a finalist after a breakout season for the Kansas City Royals. The 35-year-old tossed 206.2 innings with a 3.00 ERA. After serving as a relief pitcher to start his career, the right-hander shifted to the rotation in 2023 with the San Diego Padres and threw well enough to earn a three-year deal with the Royals last off-season. Lugo finished second in the vote, appearing second on 14 ballots, third on nine, fourth on three and fifth on five.
Yusei Kikuchi received one fifth-place vote after splitting the season between the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.
Canadian and Guardians reliever Cade Smith also was voted as the fifth-place finisher on one ballot.
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