Was there ever any doubt?
Since about the All-Star break, the name Tarik Skubal has felt almost synonymous with Cy Young Award winner. The Detroit Tigers’ ace picked up where he left off in 2023, and then got even better, building the most masterful season of his career. In a year where the Tigers’ success as a whole was anything but guaranteed, Skubal’s emergence as the team leader both on the mound, the clubhouse, and in the media, was the foundation of an improbable stretch drive and postseason run.
And now, in addition to winning the 2024 pitching Triple Crown (leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts), Skubal can add the most prestigious of feathers to his cap as the Baseball Writers’ Association of American named him the 2024 American League Cy Young award winner on Wednesday, which also happens to be Skubal’s 28th birthday.