'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On Wednesday, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers was named the AL Cy Young Award winner. With a unanimous vote, Skubal put up one of the most dominant pitching seasons in recent memory.
In addition to leading MLB in WAR and wins - with 6.3 and 18 respectively - Skubal's 2.39 led the AL, and no arm in MLB topped his 2.28 strikeouts. Tarik Skubal was virtually unstoppable in 2024.
Trending
"Congratulations to 2024 American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of the @Tigers" - MLB
Many of the comments sought to congratulate Skubal, who only earned his first All-Star nod of his career in 2024. A member of the Detroit Tigers since making his MLB debut in 2020, Skubal's 2024 was unlike anything seen in the past.
Skubal's 2024 season came to a crashing end in Game 5 of the ALDS, when he surrendered a grand slam to Lane Thomas of the Cleveland Guardians. Some comments were targeted at the Tigers themselves, including Ilitch Holdings, Inc. CEO Chris Illitch, whose group owns the team.
"Now let's see if Detroit screws it up and he ends up somewhere else next year" - exclaimed a fan
"If only Chris Ilitch weren’t a c**t" - lambasted another
"Lane Thomas belts one deep right field" - was another reference
Skubal was joined on the Cy Young ballot by the Guardians' Emmanuel Clase and Kansas City Royals starter Seth Lugo. Although Skubal had an objectively better season than both other arms. Although some thought that Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase's 0.61 ERA in 74 innings might be deserving of the prize.
"Emmanuel Clase was ROBBED!" - claimed a fan
"Rigged" - complained another
"Emmanuel Clase deserved this!" - was a final take
Tarik Skubal was always going to win 2024 Cy Young
By leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, Tarik Skubal became the first AL pitcher since Justin Verlander in 2011 to win the Triple Crown. As Skubal told MLB Network on his 28th birthday on Wednesday:
“It's pretty special, all the hard work, all that goes on behind the scenes, moments like this make it extremely worth it. It's an honor just to have my name be spoken in the same sentence as those guys, what those guys have been able to accomplish in their careers, that's something I'm going to strive for"
Despite the reservations of some fans, there is no world in which Skubal would not have rightly won the league's top pitching honors in 2024.
