For his efforts during the 1999 season, Pedro Martínez was the unanimous winner of the AL Cy Young Award. “Efforts” is probably the most mundane, vanilla, blah descriptive ever for the right-hander’s season, for it was a supernova display, a realization of a magician and genius at the height of his powers. Aside from leading the AL in the three Triple Crown categories, Boston’s right-hander also paced the circuit in a bushel of rate-state categories, produced a league-leading bWAR that’s been topped only twice in the AL since (once by himself, the next year), and fashioned an ERA+ that resides in the top-10 for all NL or AL hurlers since 60 feet, six inches began to describe the pitching distance.
Even though no one could touch Pedro when it came to hallelujahs for the top pitcher in the league, there was a second and third place finisher to provide some company. And in this particular season, the two runner-ups shared a division with the king: AL East foes from Baltimore (Mike Mussina) and New York (Mariano Rivera). Since that display of dominance from Pedro and from the AL East, no single AL Division had produced the 1-2-3 finishers in any other year until this year. So, as we celebrate the AL Central for its bountiful presentation, let’s peer into the works of Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, Kansas City’s Seth Lugo and Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase and do a little celebration of their remarkable – if not Pedro Martinez level – efforts.
*Tarik Skubal*
~ With 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts, Detroit’s southpaw joined the Triple Crown club, one of 35 (including Chris Sale in 2024) in AL-NL history to do so. In the four previous times Triple Crown winners emerged from both leagues in the same year (1905, 1918, 1924, 2011), there have been two instances of one of the dominators leading both in all three categories, kind of a supreme TRIPLE CROWN!
1905: Christy Mathewson: wins and ERA leader for all of AL & NL
1905: Rube Waddell: strikeouts leader for all of AL & NL
1918: Walter Johnson: leads all of AL & NL in all three, supreme TRIPLE CROWN!
1918: Hippo Vaughn: shut out
1924: Dazzy Vance: leads all of AL & NL in all three, supreme TRIPLE CROWN!
1924: Walter Johnson: shut out
2011: Justin Verlander: wins and strikeouts leader for all of AL & NL
2011: Clayton Kershaw: ERA leader for all of AL & NL
In 2024, Skubal and his fellow Triple Crown winner Chris Sale were about as close as can be in all three categories. If Skubal had allowed one fewer earned run than he actually did, his ERA would have been lower than Sale’s and he would have had the supreme TRIPLE CROWN! On the other hand, if Sale had punched out three more batters, he would have been the champ.
Skubal: 18 wins, 228 K’s, 2.39 ERA
Sale: 18 wins, 225 K’s, 2.38 ERA
~Skubal became the third Tiger to pace the league in all three Triple Crown categories. Fellow portsider Hal Newhouser (1945) was the first to do it and then Justin Verlander gave Newhouser a companion in 2011. A look at each of these three from a couple of different angles.
First, let’s focus on a three-way standoff in the Triple Crown stats themselves.
| Pitcher | Year | Wins | K’s | ERA |
| Hal Newhouser | 1945 | 25 | 212 | 1.81 |
| Justin Verlander | 2011 | 24 | 250 | 2.40 |
| Tarik Skubal | 2024 | 18 | 228 | 2.39 |
In terms of broadening the scope of their league leadership:
^In 1945, Newhouser also led in starts, complete games, shutouts, innings, hits/9, K’s/9, ERA+ and bWAR.
^In 2011, Verlander also led in winning percentage, starts, innings, WHIP, hits/9, ERA+ and bWAR.
^In 2024, Skubal also led in winning percentage, ERA+ and bWAR.
~Among the 35 Triple Crown winners from an AL or NL team since 1901, Skubal and Sale are among the 14 to post a winning percentage of at least .800. The first dozen:
1913 Walter Johnson
1924 Dazzy Vance
1930 Lefty Grove
1931 Lefty Grove
1934 Lefty Gomez
1963 Sandy Koufax
1985 Dwight Gooden
1999 Pedro Martínez
2002 Randy Johnson
2011 Clayton Kershaw
2011 Justin Verlander
2020 Shane Bieber
~Skubal produced a 0.922 WHIP and fanned 10.7 batters per nine innings. Those numerical standards have been authored by a qualified left-hander twice: Clayton Kershaw in 2014 and 2015. Right-handers have more frequent visitors to this valley/peak combination, with 10 of them getting the mixture just right. This tally doesn’t include the four righty hurlers who did it during the 60-game season in 2020.
*Seth Lugo*
~Over a league-leading 33 starts and facing the most batters of any AL pitcher, Lugo posted a 1.089 WHIP while fanning 21.7% of the 836 who confronted him. In themselves, those numbers aren’t unusual – Lugo is one of 155 pitchers in AL/NL history to notch at least 200.0 innings and produce a WHIP so low while maintaining a strikeout percentage so high; he’s one of three – along with Zack Wheeler and Logan Gilbert – to do this in 2024.
It’s not even super rare to see a hurler in his age-34 or older season, like Lugo in 2024, do it: there are 23 pitchers in this stratum (also including Wheeler in 2024).
What makes the Royals’ Cy Young finalist stand out is that Lugo managed to do this for the first time in his age-34 season. Only two others hit the statistical criteria for the first time while being so old: Nolan Ryan in 1989 and R.A. Dickey in 2012. Ryan was in his age-42 season, while Dickey was in his age-37 campaign.
~In American League history, Lugo is one of 40 to be in an age-34 or older season and produce an ERA+ of at least 140 while throwing at least 200.0 innings. Aside from the Royals’ righty, three others have done it this century: Curt Schilling in 2004 and Justin Verlander in 2018 and 2019. Interestingly, of the 40 individuals, Lugo is the only one to lead the league in batters faced. If we expand the pursuit to incorporate NL participants since 1901, here’s the full list of pitchers in age-34 or older seasons to amass at least 200.0 innings, produce an ERA+ of at least 140, and lead their league in batters faced:
Jim Bunning for the Phillies in 1967
Phil Niekro for the Braves in 1978
Steve Carlton for the Phillies in 1980
Randy Johnson for the Diamondbacks in 1999 and 2002
Curt Schilling for the Diamondbacks in 2001
Seth Lugo for the Royals in 2024
*Emmanuel Clase*
~Clase’s 47 saves in 2024 gives us a fun starting point to jump into his campaign. To begin, those 47 paced the AL – his third straight saves title. Going backward and then stopping in 1969, when “saves” was officially a thing, three others have been an AL or NL saves leader in at least three straight seasons.
Bruce Sutter (4): 1979-1982
Dan Quisenberry (4): 1982-1985
Craig Kimbrel (4): 2011-2014
~Clase’s 47-save season makes him one of 177 pitchers ever to post at least 40. Among this collection of firemen and closers, Clase’s rate stats from 2024 loom large:
^Clase’s 4.7 hits/9 ranks as the eighth lowest mark, tied with Armando Benítez from 2004. Craig Kimbrel’s 3.9 in 2012 is the lowest of the low.
^Clase’s 0.659 WHIP comes in as the third lowest. Dennis Eckersley’s 0.614 from 1990 continues to be the low bar that no one has been able to limbo below. Kimbrel’s 0.654 in 2012 is the second lowest.
^Clase’s 674 ERA+ stands as the second best, behind Zack Britton’s 803 in 2016. By raw ERA, Clase’s 0.61 ties Eckersley in 1990 for the third lowest, looking up at Britton’s 0.54 in ’16 and Fernando Rodney’s 0.60 in 2012.
~Clase managed to strike out only 24.4% of the batters he faced as he paced the AL in saves; this was the second time in as many years the right-hander led the league in saves and saw his whiff % be below 25.0. Two others have had multiple seasons like this in the 21st century. Jim Johnson led the AL in 2012 and 2013 with percentages in the teens and Mark Melancon led twice (2015 and 2021) with strikeout percentages in the low 20s.
~If he wasn’t a strikeout maven in 2024, Clase did display a knack for keeping hitters in the ballpark, surrendering only two homers while facing 270 batters. Going back to all 177 40-save pitchers, only 16 have managed a lower HR%.
Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.
Roger Schlueter
As Sr. Editorial Director for Major League Baseball Productions from 2004-2015, Roger served as a hub for hundreds of hours of films, series, documentaries and features: as researcher, fact-checker, script doctor, and developer of ideas. The years at MLB Production gave him the ideal platform to pursue what galvanized him the most – the idea that so much of what takes place on the field during the MLB regular and postseason (and is forever beautifully condensed into a box score) has connections to what has come before. Unearthing and celebrating these webs allows baseball to thrive, for the present can come alive and also reignite the past.