Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal has become the first American League pitcher in the 21st century to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards.
Skubal received 26 of 30 first-place votes to win the 2025 AL Cy Young Award on Wednesday, Nov. 12, extending his reign as the best pitcher in baseball. The 28-year-old posted a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks and 241 strikeouts across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts, leading the AL in ERA.
The last AL pitcher to repeat was Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from – that’s the message,” Skubal said Wednesday on MLB Network. “I had one [Division I] offer out of high school. Look at me now. I think that’s the beauty of the game of baseball. Just take your career day by day and see how good you can be.”
Since the award was first given in 1956, no AL pitcher has won three straight Cy Young Awards . That’s a feat only accomplished in the National League, where both Randy Johnson (1999-2002) and Greg Maddux (1992-95) were honored four times in a row.Expert MLB daily picks: Unique MLB betting insights only at USA TODAY
Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet finished second – and received the other four first-place votes – and Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown finished third in the AL Cy Young race, as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
A total of 30 voters from the BBWAA – two writers representing each AL city – ranked their top five Cy Young candidates on a ballot submitted after the regular season and before the postseason, with the votes worth seven points for first place, four for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.
Skubal, who turns 29 on Nov. 20, received 26 first-place votes and four second-place votes — totaling 198 points. After Skubal, Crochet earned 132 points as the runner-up and Brown secured 80 points as the third-place finisher.
Ten AL pitchers were mentioned on at least one ballot.THREE OPTIONS: What’s next for Tigers and Tarik Skubal? No easy answer
“Really proud of what he’s accomplished,” Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg said Wednesday at the general manager meetings in Las Vegas. “The adjustments he makes from start to start, season to season, that relentless pursuit of getting better embodies a lot of things that we talk about throughout the organization. It’s a testament to his talent, his work ethic and what he’s done to get here.”
In 2024, Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award unanimously by receiving all 30 first-place votes, but in 2025, he missed out on a unanimous victory by just four first-place votes.
This time, these four voters picked Crochet over Skubal: Eriko Takehama of Sankei Sports and Bob Klapisch of NJ.com, representing New York; Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press, representing Texas; and Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star, representing Toronto.
Crochet, 26, registered a 2.59 ERA with 46 walks and 255 strikeouts across 205⅓ innings in 32 starts; Brown, 27, logged a 2.43 ERA with 57 walks and 206 strikeouts across 185⅓ innings in 31 starts.
Born in Detroit, Brown grew up in St. Clair Shores, graduated from Lakeview High School and attended Wayne State, with the Astros selecting him in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.
“We all know that Skubal is probably the best pitcher in the league right now,” Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez, a three-time All-Star in his four-year MLB career, said before Game 2 of the ALDS. “Obviously, he’s really good.”
There were 26 AL pitchers who qualified for the ERA title in 2025. Of that group, Skubal ranked first in ERA (2.21), first in strikeout rate (32.2%), first in walk rate (4.4%), first in WHIP (0.891), fourth in opponent batting average (.199) and tied for second in innings (195⅓).
His best of 31 starts: He threw a two-hit complete game shutout against the Cleveland Guardians on May 25 at Comerica Park, doing so on fewer than 100 pitches – an accomplishment referred to as a “Maddux.”
His 94-pitch masterpiece featured 13 strikeouts, the most in a “Maddux” game, and his final pitch registered 102.6 mph, the fastest strikeout pitch thrown by a starter since pitch tracking began in 2008.
“His focus is determination,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said after Game 1 of the AL wild-card series. “This guy trains super-hard in the offseason. He never lets up. He carries us through so many of his starts. He’s an emotional leader. There’s a great presence with him. Everything changes the day that he pitches, which is what should be around the ace.”HOT STOVE: Best fits for Tigers in free agency: 10 targets to know in 2025-26 offseason
Skubal was the AL starting pitcher in the 2025 All-Star Game for the first time, becoming a two-time All-Star in his six-year MLB career. He made his MLB debut in August 2020.
In 2025, Skubal dominated hitters once again by leaning on his changeup and four-seam fastball.
His four-seamer averaged 97.6 mph and maxed out at 102.6 mph, while his changeup generated a 46.8% whiff rate and annihilated right-handed hitters. Those two pitches have been his primary weapons for the past three seasons, but this season marked the first time he threw more changeups than four-seamers.
Across 31 starts, Skubal took the mound 25 times with Dillon Dingler at catcher and six times with Jake Rogers at catcher. With Dingler behind the plate, Skubal posted a 1.88 ERA, 3.8% walk rate and 34.3% strikeout rate in 162⅔ innings.
“He’s a different kind of pitcher,” Dingler said after Game 1 of the AL wild-card series. “Most guys that are pitching for that day are a little bit more intense, a little bit more focused. But Tarik has the ability to be the same person – joke around like you would usually be, then lock it in.”
Skubal took another step forward in 2025.
He improved his ERA from 2.39 to 2.21, decreased his walks per nine innings from 1.6 to 1.5 and increased his strikeouts per nine innings from 10.7 to 11.1. His ERA+ reflected that growth, climbing from 174 (74% better than league average) to 187 (87% better than league average).
“One of the true aces in the game,” New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the All-Star Game. “His strikeout-to-walk ratio is really hard to wrap your head around, but I think it speaks to not only his ability to command the baseball, but to do it in a dominant fashion.”
In the NL, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes won the first Cy Young Award of his two-year MLB career, receiving all 30 first-place votes for a unanimous victory. The 23-year-old – the 2023 No. 1 overall pick who won NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 – posted an MLB-leading 1.97 ERA with 42 walks and 216 strikeouts across 187⅔ innings in 32 starts.OFFSEASON UNDERWAY: What is Tigers’ top priority in 2025-26 offseason – Alex Bregman?
Skubal is one of five Tigers to win the Cy Young Award. The others: Denny McLain (1968, 1969), Willie Hernández (1984), Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013).
He became the fifth AL pitcher to repeat as the Cy Young winner, joining McLain, Jim Palmer (1975-76), Roger Clemens (1986-87, 1997-98) and Martínez (1999-2000).
Skubal is set to become a free agent after the 2026 season.
“Sitting in my chair, one of the easiest things to do and one of the most exciting things to do is hand the ball to the best pitcher in baseball,” Hinch said after Game 4 of the ALDS, discussing Skubal’s start in Game 5 . “He is somebody deeply trusted in our clubhouse to bring intensity, high-end pitching and results. We win together and we lose together, but he leads us.”
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