Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal both won their first career Cy Young trophies on Wednesday after winning the Triple Crown this season.
Sale, a 35-year-old left-hander who was playing his first season with the Atlanta Braves, led the NL in wins (18), 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts. taken.
He received 26 of the 30 first-place votes in the ballot.
He and Skubal are the first to achieve the Triple Crown in a full season since another Tiger, Justin Verlander, and Clayton Kershaw in 2011.
Sale was competing against Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler, who received the other four votes, and Pittsburgh starter Paul Skenes, who was named NL rookie of the year on Monday.
Sale missed his last scheduled regular season start and first round playoff loss to the San Diego Padres due to back issues.
At his peak between 2012 and 2018, when he helped the Boston Red Box win the World Series, he received several votes for this trophy in the past without ever winning it, but was then seriously affected by injuries . His strong comeback puts him back in the Hall of Fame discussions.
“It means a lot. It’s a special night, Sale said. I can’t express how grateful I am to everyone who has supported me. It would have been easy to jump ship and cast myself aside. »
A nice gift for Skubal
Left-hander Tarik Skubal was elected, after a unanimous vote, best pitcher in the American on his 28th birthday.
He had a season-high 18 wins to lead Detroit to a surprise playoff appearance. He also led the American League in earned run average (2.39) and strikeouts (228) in 31 starts.
“All the hard work, everything that goes on behind the scenes, moments like this make it so worth it,” Skubal said.
In three playoff games played after the votes were tabulated, Skubal was 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA for the Tigers, who were eliminated by the Guardians in the division series.
“There’s only one happy team at the end of the year, but it was a lot of fun to be a part of. These are the memories, and obviously the experience will help our club move forward.
“So it was really fun, and I’m glad we were able to experience that as a team, especially as a young team as well, so it’s only positive going forward.” »
The other finalists in the American were late-game specialist Emmanuel Clase (Guardians) and starter Seth Lugo (Royals).
