Tarik Skubal's Dominance: A Cy Young Dynasty in Detroit!
Detroit Tigers fans, get ready to celebrate! Left-handed ace Tarik Skubal has just cemented his place among baseball's elite, securing his second consecutive American League Cy Young Award. This incredible feat puts him in truly rarified air.
Published on November 12, 2025, this article from Evan Woodbery highlights Skubal's remarkable achievement.
Winning back-to-back Cy Youngs is a testament to Skubal's talent and dedication. He's the first pitcher to accomplish this since Jacob deGrom in 2018-19, and the first in the AL since Pedro Martinez in 1999-2000.
Skubal now joins an exclusive club of only 23 pitchers who have won multiple Cy Young Awards. The list reads like a who's who of pitching legends: Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), Steve Carlton and Greg Maddux (4 each), and many more, including Sandy Koufax, Tom Seaver, and Justin Verlander.
This marks the seventh Cy Young Award for a Tigers pitcher, adding to the legacy of Denny McLain, Guillermo “Willie” Hernandez, Verlander, and Scherzer.
But here's where it gets controversial... Skubal's stats from the 2025 season are undeniably impressive. At the age of 29, he went 13-6 with a league-best 2.21 ERA. He also struck out a career-high 241 batters in 195 1/3 innings. And let's not forget his stellar playoff performances in October.
And this is the part most people miss... Since returning from flexor tendon surgery in 2023, Skubal has been absolutely dominant, boasting a 38-13 record with a 2.39 ERA over 77 starts and 467 innings, while striking out 571 batters. General Manager Jeff Greenberg emphasized the relentless work ethic and adjustments that have brought Skubal to this level.
In the 2025 voting, after winning unanimously in 2024, Skubal received 26 out of 30 first-place votes. Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox received the other four votes.
Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros, a Detroit-area native, finished third in the voting. The article also touches on Skubal's future, as he's entering his final year of team control in 2026. This is sure to be a major topic of conversation this winter.
What do you think of Skubal's remarkable achievement? Do you believe he's on his way to becoming a Hall of Famer? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Evan Woodbery has covered the Detroit Tigers and Major League Baseball for MLive.com since 2016.
