For just the third time in the honor’s illustrious history, the Cy Young Awards in both leagues have been won by left-handers: and . In 1977, Yankees closer Sparky Lyle became the first reliever in American League history to win the award, and Phillies ace Steve Carlton claimed the second of what would be four total Cy Youngs over the course of his 24-year Hall of Fame career. Twenty-five years later, a young southpaw named Barry Zito broke out with Oakland to claim the 2002 AL Cy Young, and legendary lefty Randy Johnson punctuated his unparalleled run of dominance in the desert with his fourth consecutive NL Cy Young and fifth total.
And in 2024, we have a fantastic duo of lefties in the 28-year-old Skubal and 35-year-old Sale, with each earning the accolade for the first time after drastically different journeys to this point. Sale, who also , in the NL Cy Young voting announced Wednesday. Skubal in winning the AL Award unanimously on his birthday.
Barely known as a prep pitcher growing up in Arizona, Skubal grabbed scouts’ attention as a freshman at Seattle University — hardly a hotbed of premium hardball talent — but fell off the radar following Tommy John surgery early in his sophomore year. The Tigers selected him in the ninth round in 2018 after a solid junior season in his return from surgery, and Skubal instantly made waves in Detroit’s minor-league system, dominating A-ball and finishing his first professional season with nine strong starts in Double-A. Hi.