One of Tarik Skubal's most prized possessions is the signed jersey he has from Miguel Cabrera. In Skubal's words, it's "the coolest fu*king thing ever." What he likes about it best is that Cabrera's accomplishments cover the back of the jersey -- Triple Crown winner, two-time MVP, 12-time All-Star, etc. -- but "he was never a guy" to talk about himself.
"That's how he acted, and I kind of do the same thing," Skubal said.
Skubal just won a Triple Crown of his own. Ask him about it and he doesn't have a whole lot to say, partly because it's so fresh, mostly because he's much more consumed with the team. After becoming the first American League pitcher to lead the lead in wins, ERA and strikeouts in a full season since Justin Verlander in 2011, Skubal was thinking about taking the ball for the Tigers in their first playoff game in 10 years.
"I'm not a big -- I don't like talking about my awards or accolades, that's just not how I operate," Skubal said. "That's probably not the answer you want to hear, it's just the answer that I got."
The Tigers were 21-10 this year with Skubal on the mound, 65-66 without him. Were it not for a couple all-time seasons by Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Royals shortstop Bobby Witt, Skubal would have a legitimate case for AL MVP. As it is, he's the obvious Cy Young award winner and, as fellow All-Star Riley Greene put it, "a big reason why we're here." With respect to Greene, Skubal is the biggest reason.
"He goes out there and just competes every day," said Greene. "It's him vs. the other guy, and he's not afraid of anyone. He attacks everyone. His want to win every single time he takes the mound, and his presence on the mound, is just incredible."
Jake Rogers was on the receiving end of every pitch that Skubal threw this season. He said that when guys around the league ask him what it's like to catch the best pitcher in baseball, he doesn't really know how to explain it other than, "He's just been on cruise control. You get to a certain speed and you hit the button and he's going all for it." With the way PitchCom relays pitch calling, Rogers said it "feels like a video game" where the pitcher always has a full tank.
"And it's like, I don't care which button I push, it's going to be in the zone -- his zone rates are incredible -- and they're going to get weak contact or punched," said Rogers. "He was dotting, man, all year, dominant. It's an incredible season. And I'm super happy for him because he's an awesome human, even better talent, which is hard to do. It was fun to watch in the best seat."
Skubal doesn't just pepper the strike zone. He punishes it. He was second in the majors this season in pitches in the zone, first in whiffs in the zone. In 31 starts, he allowed 32 barreled balls. Aside from his knuckle-curve, which he throws less than five percent of the time, Skubal held hitters to a .215 average or worse on his fastball, changeup, sinker and slider. The best hitter in the game, Aaron Judge, called Skubal "the best pitcher in the game." Greene, the best hitter on the Tigers, said, "I would sit slider. Hope he hangs one."
"And if he doesn't, hats off to him. And he doesn't do that very often," Greene laughed.
As Skubal's historic season unfolded, A.J. Hinch tried his best to appreciate what he was witnessing. But "when you see special seasons like these, the hardest thing to do for all of us -- and I'm talking uniformed personnel, organizational people, media, our fans -- is to put it in proper context while you're watching it," he said. The context is in the company. The only other AL Pitching Triple Crown winners since 1946 are Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana and Verlander.
"I don't want to downplay it," said Skubal. "Because that's not what I'm doing. Anytime your name is thrown around names like that, it's an honor to just be in the list. But it's tough for me to put into words right now. It's just, you play the game to go out there and perform and then you do something like that and you get to have that the rest of your life.
"So, it's pretty special. It's really cool. But it means nothing if we lose Tuesday and I don't perform."
Greene laughed when he heard the list to which Skubal belongs and said, "Those are pretty well-known names, I would say." He shook his head and added "That's just, it's crazy." This breakthrough was no sure thing for Skubal a couple years ago when he underwent flexor tendon surgery on his left elbow, several years after having Tommy John. He entered this season with a lot of promise, but even more to prove. Then he struck out nearly a third of the batters he faced.
Hinch credits Skubal's devotion to his rehab, and then his commitment to keeping himself in peak physical condition. He's fiercely loyal to his routine between starts, which the Tigers have helped him craft. Hinch also points to Skubal's "communication with (pitching coach Chris Fetter), tweaking a few things along the way and not having the habit of just assuming everything was going to be better." Fetter helped Skubal adjust his changeup grip in 2022, spawning his most devastating pitch.
"He pushes," said Hinch. "And he wasn't really caught up in (the Triple Crown). He's been caught up in one thing: winning the day that he pitches. It's all he can focus on. And we won a lot when he pitched."
Skubal turns 28 next month. Greene just turned 24. They overlapped on rehab assignments in Lakeland last season, just before Skubal took the big leagues by the horns. Thinking back to that time "and all the things he's been through with his rehab, I don't know if this is weird to say, but I'm proud of him," said Greene.
"I've been there with him. He works hard and he never stops," Greene said.
It all paid off this season, at least so far. Skubal went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. He allowed one run or fewer in more than half of his starts, two or fewer in more than three quarters of them. Asked about giving Skubal the ball in Game 1 against the Astros on Tuesday, Hinch cracked, "Who would you give it to?"
"That might have been the easiest decision of my tenure here," said Hinch.
"It's an honor," said Skubal. "It's a privilege to have the trust from A.J. and the rest of the guys in this clubhouse to go out there Game 1 and put our team in position to win. So that's what I'm gonna do."
