"Failure can derail you" - Tarik Skubal opens up about overcoming hardships to become one of the best pitchers in MLB
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was unanimously named the 2024 AL Cy Young on Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He received all 30 first place votes after leading the American League in wins (18-4 record in 31 starts), strikeouts (228 strikeouts in 192 innings) and earned run average (2.39 ERA), thereby earning a pitching Triple Crown.
Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo came in second place with 14 second-place votes. Cleveland Guardians' Emmanuel Clase, Royals' Cole Ragans and Baltimore Orioles' Corbin Burnes all received at least one vote as the second-best pitcher behind Skubal.
Just hours before the announcement, the "Iron Willed" podcast released a video on Wednesday where Skubal talked about overcoming hardships and failures.
"If only you could know, when you're going through failure, that success is coming," Skubal said. "Everybody in the world would do it, right? But it's that failure that can derail you mentally, making you think, 'Oh, woe is me,' or, 'Why is this happening to me?' Or even, 'What is God's plan?'
"It's like, 'Why is He putting these obstacles in my life?' But no, it's a win. He's setting you up for something so much sweeter.
"When you look back, like when I look back at staying in the hotel and stuff, you know, I said earlier that if you told me I'd be sitting in this chair today, I'd say no way I would have done that. But back then? Absolutely, I'd do it a hundred times out of a hundred," he added.
Tarik Skubal's journey to the majors was one filled with hardships
The Detroit Tigers ace's journey to MLB started with him pitching for Seattle University, a private Jesuit college with an enrollment of only 7,500. Due to him requiring Tommy John surgery, he had to miss his sophomore year in 2017.
In his senior season, he returned, posting a 4.16 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 80 innings which led to the Tigers picking him in the ninth round. Skubal started pitching like an ace in the minors the following two years where he pitched a 2.03 ERA and averaged 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings. His performances led to the Tigers calling him up to the majors in 2020.
Just when everything was going well, Skubal had to undergo flexor tendon surgery in 2022. He returned soon after and has been Detroit's No. 1 ace since.
Skubal has two more years with arbitration left in his contract with the Tigers. The club will look to sign him to a long-term extension next but the number will have to be good enough for his agent, Scott Boras, to not let the pitcher test free agency two years later.