Triple Crown! Skubal paces AL in wins, K's and ERA

Tarik Skubal has cemented his status as one of the top starters in the Majors and the overwhelming favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award this season. He also etched himself into baseball lore with his all-around excellence this season.

Skubal clinched the AL pitching Triple Crown by pacing the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Skubal led all AL pitchers with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher to win the Triple Crown since Shane Bieber in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Skubal is the first pitcher to earn the Triple Crown in a full season since 2011, when both Justin Verlander (AL) and Clayton Kershaw (NL) claimed the honor.

“That's pretty cool, to accomplish something like that,” Skubal said. “But what I'm most proud about is that we're in the playoffs. That's more fun than winning a Triple Crown. That's kind of how I feel about it."

Skubal became the 21st pitcher (30th occurrence) to win the pitching Triple Crown since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913. The Tigers left-hander also became the third pitcher in franchise history to win the Triple Crown, joining Verlander (2011) and Hal Newhouser (1945).

"When you see special seasons like this, the hardest thing to do for all of us is to put in proper context while you're watching it," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "Think about Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown, like how incredible that was. And now put it in perspective of his entire career, and we have a whole new perspective. We're going to look at Tarik's year much differently five years from now, 10 years from now, when that list is still short.

"He wasn't really caught up in that. He was caught up in one thing: Win the day that he pitches. It's all he can focus on, and we won a lot when he pitched, a lot of times because of how he pitched, it gave us every opportunity to win that game. He should get the national attention that he's about to get because of the dominant season that he had in all categories, including the Triple Crown."

Skubal also joined Verlander (2007, 2009-11) and Max Scherzer (2013-14) as the only Detroit pitchers since 2000 to win 18 or more games in a season. Skubal’s 2.39 ERA was the lowest by a Tigers starter (minimum 150 innings) since Mark Fidrych had a 2.34 mark in 1976 (Verlander had a 2.40 ERA in 2011).

"I've gotten some text messages from some people reaching out about the season,” Skubal said about his feat. “In the moment, right now, I'm probably going to brush it to the side. But once the season's over, wherever we end up, then I'll probably be able to sit back and enjoy it a little bit."

It’s been quite the journey for Skubal, who has established himself as a true ace since returning from left flexor tendon surgery on July 4, 2023. Since that time, Skubal ranks first among qualified starting pitchers in ERA (2.51), strikeouts (330), FIP (2.35) and fWAR (9.1).

"Let me tell you: It was fun," catcher Jake Rogers said. "Guys would always ask how it was catching him, and I don't know if I could really answer other than he was kind of on cruise control all year. You get to a certain speed and you hit the button and he's going all for it.

"It's an incredible year, and I'm super happy for him because he's an awesome human and an even better talent. It's hard to do and it was fun to watch from the best seat."

Skubal likely will not be the only pitcher to win the Triple Crown this year. Atlanta’s Chris Sale is in line to join him as he leads the National League in all three categories, but he could pitch in Monday’s potential Mets-Braves doubleheader (depending on the outcome of Sunday’s games), which means his 2.38 ERA is not yet final. Zack Wheeler is second in the NL with a 2.57 ERA.

If Sale wins the NL Triple Crown, it would mark the fourth time that a pitcher won the Triple Crowns in each league in the same season. The others are:

• 2011: Verlander (Tigers) and Kershaw (Dodgers)
• 1924: Walter Johnson (Washington Nationals) and Dazzy Vance (Brookyln Dodgers)
• 1918: Johnson (Washington Nationals) and Hippo Vaughn (Cubs)

MLB.com's Jason Beck contributed to this story.