Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws against the Cleveland Guardians during the fourth inning of Game 5 of the ALDS at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers capped off dominant seasons by winning Cy Young Awards in their respective leagues, as announced Wednesday night by Major League Baseball.
Both left-handers won the Triple Crown, with Sale leading the National League in wins, strikeouts and earned average, and Skubal — who won the award unanimously — repeating the feat in the American League.
It was the first Cy Young Award for each.
Sale took the honor over fellow National League finalist Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes. Sale received 26 first votes and four second for 198 total points in the voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
“It’s not an easy way to win this trophy for the first time,” Sale said, per MLB.com. “As soon as it happened, I thought about the people and my friends and my coaches and my family. It’s special to me because of all the hard work that other people have put in to get me here.”
Wheeler is second with 130 points (first four, 25 seconds, one fourth) and Skenes, the NL Rookie of the Year, is third with 53 (one second, 13 thirds, three fourths). Dylan Cease of the Padres (45), Shota Imanaga of the Cubs (38) are also among the top five voters.
Sale’s teammate, right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, was one of three NL pitchers to receive the fifth vote.
Skubal, with 30 first-place votes for 210 points, beat American League finalist Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals (93) and Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase (66).
“It’s special,” Skubal said. “All the hard work, all the things that go on behind the scenes, moments like this are so worth it.”
The Royals’ Cole Ragans (48), the Orioles’ Corbin Burnes (47), the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (25), the Astros’ Framber Valdez (17), the Rangers’ Kirby Yates (two), the Astros’ Yusei Kikuchi (one) and Guardian ‘Cade Smith (one) rounded up the vote.
Sale, 35, has been in the Cy Young conversation multiple times, runner-up in 2017 and finished in the top six in voting for seven consecutive seasons from 2012-18.
The award is the crowning achievement of a comeback for Sale, who missed the entire 2020 season after Tommy John surgery and was limited to just 11 combined starts in 2021 and 2022 due to injury. After a 6-5 season with a 4.30 ERA with the Boston Red Sox in 2023, he was traded to the Braves last December 30 along with cash for infielder Vaughn Grissom.
In his first season in Atlanta, Sale finished 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA. Over 29 starts and 177 2/3 innings, he struck out 225 batters and walked 39, giving up just nine home runs. He was named the NL Comeback Player of the Year last week.
“My goal at the beginning of this year was just to be healthy,” said Sale. “Getting greedy and thinking about something like this, maybe a little more than skiing. I came to a new team that made a trade for me, when I’m sure there were many people who gave the trade. side-eye when it first happened … To say I will sitting here right now would be crazy.
Sale’s season ended in disappointment, however, as back pain kept him out of the postseason.
In his career with the Chicago White Sox (2010-16), Red Sox (2017-23) and Braves, Sale had a 138-83 record with a 3.04 ERA and 2,414 strikeouts over 372 appearances (292 starts).
As for Skubal, he won the award on his 28th birthday. A ninth-round draft pick by the Tigers in 2018, he made his debut in 2020. In 31 starts this season, he finished 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA, striking out 228 and walking 35 over 192 rounds.
Skubal is 6-2 with a 1.85 ERA over his last eight starts as Detroit climbs from eight games below .500 in mid-August to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
He defeated the Astros in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series and finished the postseason 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts.
“It’s a ton of fun to be a part of,” said Skubal. “The last two months of our season and even the postseason are very special. Memories and experiences will obviously help our club move forward, and I’m glad we can experience it as a team and as a young team.”
Over 106 career regular season appearances (103 starts), Skubal is 41-31 with a 3.37 ERA. He had 648 strikeouts in 571 1/3 innings.
Sale became the first Atlanta pitcher to win the award since Tom Glavine won twice in 1998, capping a dominant decade by Braves pitchers when Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz combined for six Cy Youngs in eight seasons.
Skubal is the third Tigers pitcher in the 2000s to earn the award, following Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013).
This season marks the fourth time in major league history that both leagues have won the Triple Crown in the same year. The last time that happened was 2011, when Verlander of the Tigers and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers accomplished the feat.
–Field Level Media
