A year after making history, Tarik Skubal has made more.
Skubal was named the American League Cy Young award winner Wednesday night, becoming the first AL pitcher in a quarter-century to claim the honor in consecutive years. The last was Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000.
Skubal also joins Denny McLain as the only pitchers in Tigers history to win back-to-back Cy Young awards.
Last year, Skubal also won the American League pitching Triple Crown. He was somehow even better this year, posting a lower ERA while leading the majors in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
He followed that up by posting a 1.74 ERA in three postseason starts, though the Tigers lost both of his starts against the Mariners in the ALDS, including Game 5 in Seattle when Skubal allowed one run and struck out 13 batters in six innings.
Skubal beat out fellow AL finalists Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox and Wayne State product Hunter Brown of the Astros for this year's Cy Young. The tale of the tape:
Skubal: 13-6, 2.21 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 241 strikeouts, 33 walks. 31 starts, 195 1/3 innings. .200 batting average against.
Crochet: 18-5, 2.59 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 259 strikeouts, 46 walks. 32 starts, 205 1/3 innings. .217 batting average against.
Brown: 12-9, 2.43 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 206 strikeouts, 57 walks. 31 starts, 185 1/3 innings. .201 batting average against.
Attention now will turn squarely to Skubal's future, with the soon-to-be 29-year-old on the verge of his contract season. If the Tigers don't intend to give Skubal the kind of money he'll command on the open market next winter -- upwards of $50 million per year -- they may have to consider trading him this winter.
Of course, they're also coming off back-to-back trips to the playoffs, where they were a game away from the ALCS both times. Trading the best pitcher in baseball would not be in their best interests for next season, no matter who they might get back.
This is the dilemma facing Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris. Solving it, one way or the other, could go a long way toward defining his tenure in Detroit.