On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America awarded the Cy Young Awards to Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, recognizing them as the best pitchers in Major League Baseball for the first time in their careers.
Skubal, a left-handed pitcher, received unanimous approval, securing all 30 first-place votes in the American League (AL). Meanwhile, Sale, also a lefty, claimed the National League (NL) Cy Young. Both pitchers were named Triple Crown winners in their respective leagues, having led in wins, earned run average (ERA), and strikeouts.
This marks only the third time since 1967 that left-handed pitchers have captured the Cy Young Awards in both leagues in the same season.
The voting for the Cy Young Awards took place before the postseason began.
Standout season for Skubal
Tarik Skubal, who celebrated his 28th birthday the day he won the Cy Young Award, had a standout season in his fourth full year in the majors. Skubal posted an 18-4 record, a career-best 2.39 ERA, and led all of MLB with 228 strikeouts, earning a spot on the 2024 All-MLB First Team. His 18 wins tied him with Chris Sale for the most in the league and marked a career-high for both pitchers.
“It’s pretty special,” said Skubal on MLB Network. “All the hard work, all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes, moments like this make it extremely worth it.”
Skubal’s impressive performance helped the Detroit Tigers reach their first postseason in a decade. The team had a 21-10 record in games he started, compared to a 65-66 record when he wasn’t on the mound. Skubal became the fifth pitcher in Tigers history to win the Cy Young Award. Kansas City Royals’ Seth Lugo finished second, while Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians came in third.
Another accolade for Sale
In his first season with the Atlanta Braves, Chris Sale had an outstanding year, finishing with an 18-3 record and a 2.38 ERA. He led all of Major League Baseball in ERA and struck out 225 batters, the most in the National League, across 177.2 innings. His performance earned him a spot on the 2024 All-MLB First Team.
The 35-year-old, a native of Lakeland, Florida, also showcased his defensive skills, winning his first Gold Glove Award after not committing a single error this season.
“It wasn’t just me rolling out there… I gave up one unearned run this year. One. That means my guys in the field were making unbelievable plays,” Sale said on MLB Network. “It seems like I go out there, pitch two or three innings, and there are five runs on the board. Then you get to the bullpen, and it’s absolute lockdown… A lot goes into this.”
Sale expressed his gratitude for the support he received during challenging times, saying, “I can’t express how thankful I am for everybody that stuck by me. It would have been easy to kind of jump ship and write me off. I had a lot of people text me through the tough times, and I’m happy to share this moment with them.”
Sale won the Cy Young Award with 26 out of 30 first-place votes, beating out Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies and Paul Skenes, the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year, from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This is the fifth Cy Young Award in Braves history and the first since Tom Glavine in 1998. Additionally, Sale was named Comeback Player of the Year just last week.