Detroit Tigers Have Been Behind Nearly a Decade of Cy Young Winners

The American and National League Cy Young Award winners were announced Wednesday night. For the first time in three seasons, there was no Detroit Tigers finalist, as New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler took home the American League honor.

With that, Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers' reign of holding the Cy Young Award comes to an end. Skubal won the award in back-to-back seasons before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at this year's trade deadline.

Schlittler becomes just the fifth pitcher in the last 11 seasons to win the American League Cy Young Award without having some connection to the Tigers organization.

Before Schlittler, there were the two Skubal seasons. Before him was Gerrit Cole, who had no connection to Detroit outside of regularly dominating the Tigers throughout his career.

In 2022, Detroit Tigers legend Justin Verlander claimed yet another Cy Young Award, this time as a member of the Houston Astros. It was a resurgence late in his career and one of his final great seasons. Verlander eventually made his way back to Comerica Park for one last start this year, receiving a movie-like ending when Eduardo Valencia walked off the Pittsburgh Pirates to secure a win in Verlander's final appearance in Detroit.

In 2021, Robbie Ray took home the award as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Ray made his major league debut with the Tigers in 2014 and spent part of the following season in Detroit before being dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade that brought Shane Greene to the Tigers. Ray went on to build a very successful career, eventually becoming a Cy Young winner.

In 2020, during the COVID-shortened season, Cleveland's Shane Bieber won the award. Bieber had no affiliation with Detroit, and the shortened season certainly makes that particular Cy Young campaign an interesting one to look back on.

In 2019, it was once again Justin Verlander, and once again, he was pitching for the Houston Astros.

In 2018 and 2017, Blake Snell and Corey Kluber respectively claimed the awards. Neither pitcher ever played for the Tigers.

And lastly, in 2016, it was Rick Porcello, who won the award while pitching for the Boston Red Sox. Porcello led the league with 22 wins and just four losses that season. He finished with a career-best 3.15 ERA and was lights out throughout the year. That came just two seasons after his departure from Detroit, where he spent six seasons.

You could really keep going, too. Looking back a few more years, there was Max Scherzer, David Price and, of course, Verlander. Price joined Detroit after winning his Cy Young Award, but he was still another Cy Young winner who eventually found his way into the Tigers organization.

More than half of the last 11 American League Cy Young winners have been connected to the Tigers at some point in their careers. That's an impressive collection of pitching talent, and it makes Detroit's recent history with the award even more interesting.

Now, though, the mindset shifts away from the past and toward the future. The next Cy Young winner may already be in Detroit's clubhouse. It's up to the organization and its players to identify who that pitcher could be and turn that potential into another award-winning season.