Detroit — Tarik Skubal got a chuckle out of it.

His catchers, Jake Rogers and Dillon Dingler, with the help of the Tigers’ social media team, put together a warm, tribute video, congratulating Skubal, who on Wednesday, by a vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America, won his second straight American League Cy Young Award.

Rogers concluded the video with one of his patented one-liners.

“Eff it,” he said. “Why not three?”

“No doubt,” Skubal said. “There’s an opportunity to do that. You’re never satisfied, right? You want to win that award as many times as you can in your career. But, honestly, I’d gladly trade a Cy Young Award for a World Series ring.

“That’s an easy trade for me.”

Skubal is the first American League pitcher to win the award in consecutive years since Red Sox Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez won it in 1999 and 2000. And he joins Denny McLain (1968, 1969) as the only Tigers pitcher to win it more than once.

And he joins McLain, Willie Hernandez (1984), Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013) in the Tigers’ small but glittery Cy Young club.

“It means a lot,” he said. “Any time you get an award with this much prestige, it’s really cool. And to be the first one in the American League since Pedro is even more special given who he is. But in the season, it wasn’t something I was chasing or trying to accomplish.

“I was more focused on our team and trying to compete and win a World Series. That’s what ultimately matters in this game.”

Skubal, a unanimous choice for the award in 2024, got 26 of 30 first place votes, beating out Red Sox Garrett Crochet (four first place votes, 26 second place votes) and Astros’ Hunter Brown (Wayne State).

The Tigers were 21-10 in Skubal’s 31 regular-season starts this past season. His 6.5 WAR and 2.21 ERA led the American League. Per Baseball Reference, Skubal led in 12 different statistical categories, including an MLB-low 0.891 WHIP.

His 195⅓ innings and 241 strikeouts were career highs. He had a 32.2% strikeout rate and a 4.4% walk rate. His 7.30 strikeout-to-walk ratio was tops in the game. He allowed zero earned runs in 12 of his 31 starts, and two runs or less in 21 of them.

“A lot of it is not being complacent with who I am today,” Skubal said. “I still think there is more to tap into. I still don’t think I’m the finished version of myself. When I retire, that will be the final version of myself. I am still looking to get better each and every day.”

That was the mindset Skubal brought into the season last year and he managed to put up back to back seasons of at least 30 starts, a sub. 2.50 ERA, a sub-1.00 WHIP and a strikeout to walk ration of six-plus.

“When I got to spring training last year, everybody said anyone can win one (Cy Young Award),” Skubal said, laughing. “When I get to spring training this year, I guarantee you they will say anybody can win two…That’s what my teammates bring out of me and that’s what my coaching staff brings out of me.

“Just the relationships I have with those people brings out the best in me and the best in our team.”

Skubal, who turns 29 on Nov. 20, is entering the final season of team control with the Tigers. He will be a free agent after next season and as such has been the hot-button topic of the Hot Stove season to this point.

“A lot of it is out of my control,” Skubal said. “Especially the trade stuff. Contract extension stuff is different. But the trade stuff is out of my control.”

Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, spoke to reporters at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas Wednesday and intimated that the Tigers were likely not to trade Skubal before the season, preferring to ride it out and try to win a championship with him in 2026.

Skubal seemed to be onboard with that scenario.

“I’ve given everything I have to this organization and I want to be a Tiger for a very long time,” he said. “But the business part of this game, it’s just different. I don’t get to write my own contract. I’m just going to do what I do and not really focus on any of that stuff. It’s not going to impact how I go about my day-to-day and it’s not going to impact how I attack my offseason.

“It’s out of my control at the end of the day but that doesn’t change the fact that I love the city of Detroit and hopefully I’m here. That’s where I’m at with all of that.”

What gnaws at him, still, and what motivates him even further, is how close the Tigers were to advancing to the championship series.

“We’re a couple of outs away, a couple of pitches away, from getting deeper into a season,” he said. “That’s what I think about. … I’m proud of the guys. I’m proud of our season. But we came up short of what we wanted to do. You want to win a championship and that’s a ton of motivation going into the offseason for me personally and for all the guys.

“Ending a season on a loss is not a fun thing. You can be proud but you want to end the season with a win. And I’m not talking about a win in Game 162. I’m talking about a win deep into October…The goal needs to be winning a championship. That’s where I’m at mentally.”

Why not three, indeed.

“I look forward to getting down to Lakeland and doing this all over again next year,” Skubal said.

And a Tigers Nation says, “Amen” to that.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky

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