Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal earn first career Cy Young Awards

Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale, both of whom won the pitching Triple Crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts) in their respective leagues, were named the American League and National League Cy Young Award winners Wednesday. 

It was the first time each of them won the award.

Skubal pitched to a 2.39 ERA, and his 228 strikeouts and 18 wins (tied with Sale) were tops in all of baseball. He received all 30 first-place votes in the American League, winning the award unanimously on his 28th birthday. Seth Lugo of the Royals finished second, while Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase, who had a 0.61 ERA, finished in third.

It was not that long ago Skubal was a middling arm. In 2021, he had a 4.34 ERA in 31 appearances. 

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Last season, in 15 starts, he showed his potential with a 2.80 ERA. This year, though, he put it all together to become the ace of a squad that rallied late to clinch a postseason berth.

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For Sale, it was a resurgent year after he had made just 31 starts from 2020 to 2023 after several years of dominance. The 35-year-old took the hill 29 times last season and dominated with MLB bests in ERA (2.38) and K/9 (11.4), along with 225 strikeouts.

Sale received 26 first-place votes, while the Phillies' Zack Wheeler, who finished in second, received the other four. NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes finished in third. From 2012 to 2018, Sale finished no worse than sixth place in the Cy Young voting, and this marks the first time he won the award.

Sale had already been named the NL’s Comeback Player of the Year and was named to the All-MLB first team. The Atlanta Braves acquired the lefty and cash from the Boston Red Sox before the 2024 season for Vaughn Grissom, who hit .190 in 31 games this season. Turns out, it was a decent trade for Atlanta.

The MLB awards will wrap up Thursday, when Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are expected to be named the AL and NL MVPs after combining for 112 home runs and 274 RBIs.

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