The BBWAA awarded the AL Cy Young to Detroit Tigers southpaw Tarik Skubal while Atlanta Braves hurler Chris Sale won the NL Cy Young in a renaissance season.
For Skubal, the Cy Young was a present for his 28th birthday. It was coming of age season for Skubal who was arguably the most crucial figure on a Detroit team which unexpectedly clinched an AL Wild Card berth. A 9th round draft pick by the Tigers in 2018, he would make the ballclub during the COVID shortened 2020 season. While a member of the starting rotation since 2021, Skubal captured lightning in a bottle in 2024 with an 18-4 record with an ERA of 2.39 along with 228 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched capturing the pitching triple crown in wins, ERA and strikeouts earning him a unanimous Cy Young selection. Eligible for arbitration in 2025, Skubal is going to get a big pay raise. The question remains if he can sustain his success.
Chris Sale was a perennial Cy Young contender during his days with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox finishing in the top six in AL Cy Young balloting for seven consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2018 making him arguably the greatest lefthander in the AL, if not all of MLB. Then came the injuries. After missing all of the COVID shortened 2020 season, Sale pitched fewer than 150 innings between 2021 and 2023. Consider what I wrote when the Braves acquired Sale from the Red Sox last December:
Sale, who turns 35 in March, joins a Braves rotation which includes 20-game winner Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, Max Fried and 40-year-old Charlie Morton. As such, Sale is not expected to be the ace of the staff. If Sale can pitch 150 innings and win 10 games, the Braves would be very happy with that indeed.
Well, Sale would exceed all expectations stepping up when the Braves lost Strider with season ending elbow surgery. Sale went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA with 225 strikeouts in 177.2 innings pitched. As with Skubal, Sale would win the pitching Triple Crown as well.
I think Sale benefited tremendously from a change of scenery which took him closer to home. In addition to the NL Cy Young, Sale was also named NL Comeback Player of the Year last week.
Had Sale been healthy all this time, he would be closing in on 3,000 strikeouts. However, Sale's renaissance and his opportunity to build upon it resumes the Cooperstown conversation. Should that not come to pass, Sale has good reason to be proud of the season he just completed.
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