Exclusive: Tarik Skubal talks record contract, Tigers' title dreams and WBC plan
USA TODAY
Back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal explained his WBC choice to USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who grew up just three hours away in a small dusty town where folks stop to get gas on their drive to Las Vegas, who had only one school even interested in giving him a college scholarship, lets his mind race as his USA teammates walk past him into the clubhouse.
It was just a few years ago he was a nobody in Kingman, Arizona and now on the eve of the World Baseball Classic, the Detroit Tigers lefty is just nine months away from receiving the largest contract by a pitcher in baseball history.
“For the most part, I try to live in the moment," Skubal says, “and just appreciate where my feet are, and continue to strive to the best version of myself."
Yet, in a sea of stardom on Team USA, filled with other MVPs, Cy Young winners and All-Stars, Skubal is the one getting the most attention.
He’s the one everyone wants next winter, the one who’ll break the bank, and perhaps the first American League pitcher to ever win three consecutive Cy Young awards.
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