Southpaw pitchers Chris Sale (Atlanta Braves) and Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) have become first-time Cy Young Award recipients in 2024. The awards for the triple Crown winners – and former Tommy John surgery patients — mark only the third time two left-handers won Cy Young honors in the same season (Steve Carlton and Sparky Lyle won in 1977 and Randy Johnson and Barry Zito in 2002). Sale and Skubal are also the first pitchers to win the Triple Crown in a full season since Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander did it in 2011.
Sale, 35, won the National League honor, receiving 26 of the 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to finish ahead of Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler, and Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes. Sale finished 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts — leading the NL in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Sale said: “To be able to show my sons the hard work, the dedication, not giving up. My wife having my back the whole time. I’m sure I was real peachy at times during those injuries. I was talking to my dad the other day and whether it did or didn’t happen, he was proud of me.”
Skubal, 28, unanimously won the American League award, with Kansas City’s Seth Lugo finishing second in the voting, and Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase was third. Skubal’s breakout season saw him finishing the season with a 18-4 record and 2.39 ERA, with 228 strikeouts. Skubal said: “It was a ton of fun to be part of. The last two months of our season and even the postseason was very special. The memories and the experience will obviously help our club going forward, and I’m glad we got to experience it as a team and as a young team.”
Editorial credit: Matthew Dicker / Shutterstock.com