Will Detroit Give Tarik Skubal a Standing Ovation?

Where do Detroit Tigers fans stand when it comes to Tarik Skubal?

Will they watch Skubal run to the mound and take his warmup pitches with appreciation, cheering for the pitcher who gave them some of the best memories of the last few seasons?

Or will the fans filling Comerica Park feel betrayed and toyed with, choosing to stay loyal to the jersey rather than the name on the back and boo Skubal?

The latter may seem ridiculous to some.

After all, Skubal is the reigning two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, earning both trophies while wearing the Old English D. He gave Detroit Tigers fans memories they will never forget, watching every five days in awe of just how magnificent it was to watch Skubal mow down opposing hitters.

To others, however, the idea of giving Skubal a standing ovation may seem just as ridiculous.

Watching him trot onto the mound in Dodger blue could bring back the recent memories of a player who, while beating around the bush, essentially told Detroit he wasn't coming back no matter what and would be out the door after the season.

That forced the Tigers' hand.

Detroit traded Skubal, then turned around and spent big money on Framber Valdez. All of it while Skubal expressed his disappointment about leaving the brothers he had made in Detroit.

And, at the end of the day, Skubal never got the Tigers to the World Series despite being one of the best pitchers in baseball.

That is where this gets complicated.

This is a team game. Some fans will understand that and refuse to blame Skubal, chalking it up to the same thing they chalked up the Tigers' World Series losses in 2006 and 2012 to: The team simply wasn't good enough.

There isn't necessarily a right answer.

In fact, the way fans feel about Skubal could change from one day to the next.

Since Skubal left Detroit, the Tigers sprinted past a half-dozen teams to climb into the American League Wild Card picture, only to lose a massive number of games afterward and now find themselves seemingly on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason.

Meanwhile, Skubal has made four starts since joining the Dodgers, pitching 24 innings while allowing nine earned runs and striking out 30 batters.

In his most recent start, he threw a career-high 109 pitches.

Now, Skubal returns to Comerica Park.

And for all intents and purposes, this could be the final truly exciting game for Tigers fans in the 2026 season.

Barring a miracle, this is Detroit's World Series Game 7.

If the Tigers can beat Skubal and the Dodgers, there will be victory laps. There will be celebrations. There may even be a few chants of profanity directed toward Skubal echoing through the streets of downtown Detroit.

But what happens if Skubal gets the best of a Tigers lineup that has been atrocious for most of the season outside of a six-week stretch?

A quiet anger could boil over.

Maybe it won't be directed entirely at Skubal, because at the end of the day, he's just doing his job.

Instead, it could be anger toward the entire process.

The entire ordeal that became the Skubal saga.

And perhaps, more than anything, frustration over the lack of effort the Tigers put into building a legitimate contender around a pitcher who was reaching the absolute peak of his powers.

That's the part that makes this so difficult.

I'm not here to tell you whether you should boo Skubal or cheer him if you're going to the game.

I'm not here to tell you to feel ashamed for wearing your Tarik Skubal jersey.

And I'm certainly not here to tell you how a Tigers fan is supposed to feel about one of the most dominant pitchers the organization has produced in decades.

I'm simply here to ask the question.

If you are going to the game — or if you were going — the question is simple:

Would you boo Tarik Skubal, or would you cheer him?