Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal won the 2025 AL Cy Young Award. After winning the coveted title after a dominant 2024, he ran it back this year, picking up 26 of 30 votes. He’s become the 12th pitcher to win consecutive Cy Young Awards.
Here is the elite company Skubal joins and their dominant runs.
Sandy Koufax, 1965-66
Sandy Koufax became the first pitcher to win consecutive Cy Young Awards when he went back-to-back in 1965 and 1966 after first winning the award in 1963. In 1965, he won 26 games, had a 2.04 ERA and struck out 382 hitters in 335 2/3 innings. He threw his fourth and final no-hitter, this one the eighth perfect game in baseball history. Koufax capped off his season by claiming World Series MVP as the Los Angels Dodgers beat the Minnesota Twins in seven games.
Koufax was even better in 1966, winning 27 games and pitching to a 1.73 ERA. He struck out a league-best 317 hitters, marking the fourth time in six years he led the league in punchouts. He won the Cy Young once again and finished runner-up in MVP voting for the second consecutive season. Koufax retired after the season at 30 years old because of constant arm pain.
Denny McLain, 1968-69
1968 was the Year of the Pitcher. As Bob Gibson was making history with a 1.12 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League, Denny McLain was dominating the American League for the Tigers. He won 30 games — the last pitcher to do so — and had a sub-two ERA. McLain won the Cy Young and MVP, and finished the season by defeating Gibson’s Cardinals in the World Series.
In 1969, McLain wasn’t as good but still won the award. He won 24 games and had a 2.80 ERA and a league-high nine shutouts. He tied with Baltimore Orioles starter Mike Cuellar for first place in the voting, the only tie for the award in history.
Jim Palmer, 1975-76
Embed from Getty Images
Like Koufax a decade earlier, Jim Palmer won his second and third Cy Young awards in consecutive seasons. In 1975, Palmer led the league with 23 wins, a 2.09 ERA and 10 shutouts. He won the Cy Young with ease, picking up 15 of 24 first place votes, and also finished sixth in MVP voting.
Palmer wasn’t as good the following year but again walked away with the award. He led the league with 22 wins and had a 2.51 ERA. Palmer would finish second in Cy Young voting in 1977, third in 1978, and second again in 1982.
Roger Clemens, 1986-87 and 1997-98
Roger Clemens burst onto the scene in a big way. He won his first of a record seven Cy Young anwards and his only MVP in 1986 at 23 years old. The Rocket led the league with 24 wins and a 2.48 ERA as the Boston Red Sox came one strike away from winning the World Series. He also had the first-ever 20 strikeout game that April.
Clemens ran it back the next year, again leading the league in wins and pitching to a sub-three ERA. He also had 18 complete games and seven shutouts along the way. He won the Cy Young award with ease, finishing 60 points ahead of second-place Jimmy Key. Clemens won his third Cy Young with the Red Sox in 1991.
Embed from Getty Images
He spent two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, but he won the Cy Young in both years. Clemens won the pitching triple crown both years, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. In 1997, he struck out a career-best 292 hitters, and in 1998 he won his sixth ERA title and won 20 games for the fifth time.
Clemens would win his sixth Cy Young in 2001 with the New York Yankees and add a seventh with the Houston Astros in 2004.
Greg Maddux, 1992-95
With elite control and intelligence, Greg Maddux pinpointed his way to four consecutive Cy Young awards. In 1992 with the Chicago Cubs, he won 20 games and had a 2.18 ERA. He also gave up seven homers in 268 innings. He won his first Cy Young and signed a five year deal with the Atlanta Braves.
His first three years in Atlanta were dominant. He won the ERA title in all three years and led the league with 28 complete games. Across those three seasons, he walked 106 batters and surrendered only 26 homers in 678 2/3 innings. He was by far the best pitcher in baseball and was recognized for it, winning the Cy Young Award all three years. He capped off the dominant four-year stretch by winning the 1995 World Series, as the Braves beat the then-Cleveland Indians in six games.
Pedro Martinez, 1999-2000
Pedro Martinez’s two-year stretch at the turn of the century is the stuff of legend. After winning the Cy Young award with the Montreal Expos in 1997, he went to the Red Sox and continued being one of the best pitchers ever. He dominated the sport in an era where offenses were racking up runs at a historic rate. Martinez won the pitching triple crown in 1999, picking up 23 wins, 313 strikeouts, and recording a 2.07 ERA. He allowed only nine homers in 213 1/3 innings. Martinez won the Cy Young Award and also finished second in MVP voting, losing to Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez. He also won All-Star Game MVP when he struck out future Hall-of-Famers Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, and Jeff Bagwell, as well as the legendary Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.
Martinez’s 2000 was even better. He again won the ERA crown and struck out the most hitters in the American League. His 0.74 WHIP is the lowest by any qualified pitcher in the 21st century, and his 11.7 WAR is the highest by any pitcher this century. He won the Cy Young award unanimously and finished fifth in MVP voting.
Randy Johnson, 1999-2002
Just as Martinez was dominating the American League, Arizona Diamondbacks ace Randy Johnson was doing the same thing to the National League. Having already won the Cy Young award in 1995 with the Seattle Mariners, Johnson carried his performance deep into his 30s.
He won three ERA titles and struck out well over 300 hitters in all four seasons. In 2001, he struck out 372 batters in 2001, the third-most since 1900. He capped off that season by winning World Series MVP as the Diamondbacks prevented the Yankees from winning four straight World Series.
Johnson was recognized for his mastery, claiming four consecutive Cy Young awards. His five pieces of hardware rank second in history, only behind Clemens. He would finish second in Cy Young voting in 2004, when he threw the 17th perfect game in major league history.
Tim Lincecum, 2008-09
Embed from Getty Images
Tim Lincecum quickly made his mark on the league for the San Francisco Giants. In his second season in 2008, he won 18 games, struck out a league-best 265 hitters, and pitched to a 2.62 ERA. He led the league with a 7.8 WAR and picked up 23 of 32 first place votes en route to winning the Cy Young Award, becoming the first Giant to win the award since Mike McCormick in 1967.
Lincecum put up almost an identical stat line in 2009. He won 15 games, had a 2.48 ERA, and struck out 261 hitters. Despite not getting the most first place votes, Lincecum again won the Cy Young award, narrowly beating out Cardinals pitchers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Lincecum would go on to win three World Series with the Giants in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Clayton Kershaw, 2013-14
Embed from Getty Images
Had it not been for New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey putting together the greatest knuckleball season ever in 2012, Clayton Kershaw would’ve won four consecutive Cy Young awards from 2011-14. The Dodgers southpaw won his third consecutive ERA title in 2013, pitching to a 1.83 ERA while striking out a NL-best 232 batters. He picked up 29 of 30 first place votes to win the Cy Young award.
Kershaw was even better the next year. He won 21 games and had a 1.77 ERA. Kershaw also no-hit the Colorado Rockies. He won the Cy Young unanimously and also won the MVP award, becoming the first NL pitcher to win the award since Gibson in 1968.
Max Scherzer, 2016-17
Embed from Getty Images
Max Scherzer was already one of the premier pitchers in the game when he won consecutive Cy Young awards with the Washington Nationals. Upon his arrival in the Nation’s Capital, he got even better. In his second season with the Nationals in 2016, he won 20 games and struck out a major league-high 284 hitters. He also struck out 20 hitters against the Tigers.
He repeated his performance the following campaign. Scherzer struck out a NL-best 268 hitters and dropped his ERA to 2.51. He won the Cy Young award again, beating out Kershaw for the award.
Jacob deGrom, 2018-19
Embed from Getty Images
With how injury-riddled the past few years have been for him, it might be easy to forget how dominant Jacob deGrom was for the Mets in the late-2010s. While he was notoriously not getting the wins — just 21 in the two Cy Young seasons — he made up for it by being a lot better than everyone else. In 2018, he had a 1.70 ERA, more than half a run lower than any other NL starter. He picked up 29 of 30 first place Cy Young votes, winning the award with ease.
While his ERA wasn’t as good in 2019, deGrom remained dominant. He led the league with 255 strikeouts and, in a year where balls were flying out of parks, surrendered just 19 homers in 204 innings. He again won the Cy Young Award, beating out the Dodgers’ Hyun Jin Ryu and Scherzer, and finished in the top 10 in MVP again.
Tarik Skubal, 2024-25
Embed from Getty Images
Tarik Skubal joins this list after a dominant two year run. The Tigers ace won the pitching triple crown in 2024, leading the AL with 18 wins, 228 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA. He helped propel the Tigers to an improbable playoff appearance, and was recognized for it. He won the Cy Young Award unanimously and finished seventh in MVP balloting.
Skubal repeated his performance this year. He again won the ERA crown with a 2.21 mark and struck out 241 hitters. Despite more competition coming from the Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet, Skubal won the award handily, picking up 26 of 30 first place votes.
Main photo:
More General Baseball Articles
More Major League Baseball Articles
More MLB Articles
- Categories
-
General Baseball
Major League Baseball
