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SEATTLE — When Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal takes the mound, he doesn’t seem human.
It’s like he has been sent down from the pitching heavens, blessed with an extraordinary left arm and a remarkable work ethic and an incredible drive to be great and a raging fire in his soul to win at everything. He is the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, and he is expected to be announced as the winner again in a few weeks.
And he’s the biggest reason why the Seattle Mariners are in serious trouble in this ALDS. The Tigers have a 1-0 lead in the second round of the 2025 MLB playoffs after they earned a 3-2 win over the Mariners in the 11th inning on Saturday, Oct. 4.
To make it even better for the Tigers, Skubal will pitch in Game 2 on Sunday, and he could pitch in Game 5 – if this series goes that far. Yes, the Mariners have a talented team, but I like those odds for the Tigers.
But there’s another side to Skubal.
He’s just a good dude. A regular guy who faces regular-guy problems. While the Tigers have been on the road for seemingly forever – traveling from Cleveland to Boston to Cleveland to Seattle – Skubal has run out of clothes.
“I've already worn all the underwear once,” he said, smiling. “I had to take those in and have the clubbies do some stuff. I'm wearing the same shirt I wore in Cleveland already because I had to run it through and get it washed. That's fun, though. Socks. Ran out of socks too. … But I don't think anyone's complaining about being on the road for however many days it's going to be.”
Who among us has never run out of underwear and socks on a long road trip?
See that? He’s human. Just an ordinary dude who dreams about his favorite Mexican food. Seriously. I’m not making this up: He plans to order some food from Tacos Chukis, a Seattle Mexican place, for the Tigers clubhouse after Game 2.
“It's one of my favorite taco spots, Tacos Chukis, it's phenomenal,” Skubal said. “I have dreams of this place. It's so good. Yeah. It's like that, and anytime I get back to the West Coast, In-N-Out -- those two places are, like -- whenever I get out east, Michigan, I'm like, 'Damn, I wish I could go have a taco or hamburger.' ”
Seattle special place for Skubal
But there is another side of Skubal. He’s somebody who will never forget where he came from.
So he has secured more than 30 tickets for Game 2 to give to the Seattle University baseball team, where he played college ball.
“I'm going to have the whole team out (Sunday), which I think will be a cool experience for them,” Skubal said. “I think they have a scrimmage in the morning. I've been talking to the coach. Get done with the scrimmage and come on over. I think that's 34 guys on the roster, but I think it will be worth it for these guys to just come experience playoff baseball.”
This is not an empty gesture. Seattle U. means everything to him.
And I’ve seen it up close.
This spring, before the Tigers played the Mariners in their second series of the season, I went to Seattle U. – to the field where Skubal once pitched – and listened to Skubal give a pep talk to his former college team.
“I just remember when I was going to school there, the pro guys would come back and throw and work out with us, and I thought that was really cool,” Skubal said. “I idolized those guys. I wanted to watch those guys and pick their brain and see why they have success and why they're good and how they got to be in that situation. So I think it's important to just understand that it's not a dream, you know? You can dream about playing in the big leagues and getting drafted and all this stuff, but those things can become a reality for all those guys. And I think it's important to get back in front of them and talk to them and share some knowledge.”
Later that night, I saw something else. Seattle U. held a private event on the third deck at the Mariners' T-Mobile Park, overlooking the field. About 80 athletic administrators, alumni and friends of the program gathered to celebrate Skubal. He left the clubhouse with a Tigers security guy and went up an elevator with normal fans, wearing his uniform pants and Tigers sweatshirt and cap.
Just a regular dude walking through a ballpark in Seattle.
“This city means a lot to me,” Skubal said. “Obviously I spent four years here. I was born in California, raised in Arizona, but I feel like I kind of grew up here in college, getting independent. So this place will always have a special place in my heart, for sure.”
Hard work secret to success
What does Tigers manager A.J. Hinch appreciate the most about Skubal?
How he works his butt off.
“He's just an incredibly talented pitcher who puts in the work,” Hinch said. “It matters to him to be on a winning club and be a big reason why we're winning, and we wouldn't be here without his emergence.”
No, they wouldn’t.
And now, he’s getting ready to pitch in the ALDS for the second straight season. In the place where this amazing dream started.
“I love it,” Skubal said. “I love the environment. It's what you prepare for. It's what you work for. It's why you do the things you do in the offseason. It's all for moments like this, to just go play baseball in the biggest stage, to go out and compete and win a championship. It's why I do what I do. It's all the motivation that I need.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal is running out of clothes on Tigers' road trip
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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