Detroit Tigers Ace Tabbed as Nominee for Major League Baseball’s Biggest Award
Clearly, this could be a banner season for Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal.
He’s a Cy Young favorite. He could win pitching’s triple crown. Detroit is starting to surround him with some young, serious talent.
Now, he’s the nominee for the award Major League Baseball considers its most prestigious.
MLB announced on Monday that Skubal was the Tigers’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.
The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
If Skubal wins the award, he would be just the second Detroit player to claim it, the other being Tigers legend and Hall-of-Famer Al Kaline in 1973.
Skubal and his wife, Jessica, donate to the Detroit Tigers Foundation to support the foundation and Alternatives for Girls, an organization dedicated to empowering homeless and at-risk young women by providing critical interventions and support.
That includes support for domestic violence survivors to get a fresh start through Alternatives for Girls’ new housing unit, Dr. Maya Angelou Village.
The Village will be a 100 percent affordable housing project designed to serve individuals and families. It will also include indoor and outdoor community amenity spaces and case management offices to provide residents with the services they need to achieve the healthiest outcomes.
The Skubal’s donations covers the cost of fully-assembled “welcome home baskets,” which include essential household supplies (bedding, pots, pans, cleaning supplies, etc.) for individuals and families moving in.
He also supports the Tigers Autograph for a Cause program, which supports both the Detroit Tigers Foundation and the Little League program in his hometown of Kingman, Ariz.
Last year’s winner was outfielder Aaron Judge. The winner is usually announced during the World Series each October.
Other recent winners of the award include Justin Turner (2022), Nelson Cruz (2021), Adam Wainwright (2020), Carlos Carrasco (2019) and Yadier Molina (2018).
Sunday is Roberto Clemente Day, which honor Clemente’s legacy as a humanitarian and to formally acknowledge each club’s nominees. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards and a customized tribute video to Clemente and the 30 Roberto Clemente Award nominees will be shown in all MLB ballparks.
Clemente, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, died on Dec. 31, 1972, while delivering relief supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The Puerto Rico native was a 15-time All-Star, a two-time World Series champion, a 12-time Gold Glove winner, a four-time National League batting champion and the 1966 NL MVP.
MATT POSTINS