Alex Rodriguez explains why the Dodgers are a good fit for baseball
USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa talks with MLB legend Alex Rodriguez about the dominant nature of the Dodgers’ roster.
take sports seriously
This could be the first of many for Paul Skeens. And it’s a continuation of a fall tradition for Tariq Skubal.
Skubal became the first American League pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards since Pedro Martinez in 2000, and when the winners were announced on November 12, Skeens unanimously won the first National League Shield.
Skeens added a Cy Young Award plaque to his Rookie of the Year honor a year ago when he finished third in Cy Young voting. Meanwhile, Skubal won the AL Triple Crown a year ago with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA, and 228 strikeouts, and won the Cy Young Award unanimously. In 2025, he ceded the strikeout title to Garrett Crochet, but still had 241 strikeouts, cutting his ERA to an AL-best 2.21 and his WHIP to a major-best 0.89.
Skubal received 26 of the 30 first-place votes, with the top four votes going to Crochet.
For Skeens, it was a total win. He received all 30 first-place votes in the National League, becoming the 16th unanimous National League winner since Miami’s Sandy Alcantara in 2022. He joins Dwight Gooden (1984-85) of the New York Mets as the only pitchers to win the Top Rookie and Cy Young Awards consecutively.
- 10 wins, 10 losses, ERA 1.97
- 32 starts, 187.2 innings
- 216 strikeouts, WHIP 0.95
Skeens, 23, was drafted No. 1 overall by LSU in July 2023, won the Rookie of the Year award in just over a year, and one season later won the award for the best pitcher in baseball, continuing his remarkable performance.
In his second season, he was as consistent as a bulldozer, pitching complete games in 20 of 32 games with six earned runs or less, leading the majors with a 1.97 ERA, and allowing just 0.5 home runs per nine innings and just 11 all season.
Skeens was largely unaffected by the huge increase in innings, from 150 1/3 between the minors and majors to 187 2/3 in 2025. His strikeouts per nine innings decreased slightly from 11.5 to 10.4, but the turnaround deepened as the game progressed, even though his teammates often didn’t reward him. Skeens was just 10-10 in his starts this season, while the Pirates were 17-15.
With starters other than Skens, the Pirates had a record of 54 wins and 76 losses.
- 13 wins, 6 losses, ERA 2.21
- 31 starts, 195.1 innings
- 241 strikeouts, 0.89 WHIP
Skubal won his second consecutive Cy Young Award in his final year before free agency. Contract extension talks with the Tigers never got very far, simply because Skubal didn’t emerge as an elite arm until after several years of service.
A three-peat in 2026 would undoubtedly give Skubal the platform to land the largest pitching contract in major league history. He has already achieved a lot over the past two seasons. He had 469 strikeouts in 387 1/3 innings, a 6.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a 2.30 ERA, and, last but not least, two ALDS appearances with the Tigers.
Voted on a 7-4-3-2-1 basis
- Tarik Skubal, Tigers – 198 (26 of 30 first-place votes)
- Garrett Crochett, Red Sox – 132 (4 first-place votes)
- Hunter Brown, Astros – 80
- Max Fried, Yankees – 21
- Brian Wu, Mariners – 26
- Carlos Rodon, Yankees – 5
- Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox – 4
- Jacob deGrom, Rangers – 2
Earned one fifth-place vote: Trevor Rogers (Orioles) and Drew Rasmussen (Rays).
- Paul Skeens, Pirates – 210 (30 of 30 first place votes)
- Christopher Sanchez, Phillies – 120
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers – 72
- Logan Webb, Giants – 47
- Freddy Peralta, Brewers – 44
- Nick Pivetta, Padres – 7
- Jesus Luzardo, Phillies – 5
- Andrew Abbott, Reds – 4
- Zack Wheeler, Phillies – 1
- 2024: Tarik Skubal (Tigers) and Chris Sale (Braves)
- 2023: Gerrit Cole (Yankees) and Blake Snell (Padres)
- 2022: Justin Verlander (Astros) and Sandy Alcantara (Marlins)
- 2021:Robbie Ray (Blue Jays) and Corbin Burnes (Brewers)
- 2020: Shane Bieber (Cleveland) and Trevor Bauer (Reds)
- 2019: Justin Verlander (Astros) and Jacob deGrom (Mets)
- 2018: Blake Snell (Rays) and Jacob deGrom (Mets)
- 2017: Corey Kluber (Cleveland) and Max Scherzer (Nationals)
- 2016: Rick Porcello (Red Sox) and Max Scherzer (Nationals)
- 2015: Dallas Keuchel (Astros) and Jake Arrieta (Reds)
american league
- Tarik Skubal, Tigers
- Garrett Crochet, Red Sox
- Hunter Brown, Astros
national league
- Paul Skeens, Pirates
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
- Christopher Sanchez (Phillies)
