Tarik Skubal's 1,000th Strikeout

The Business Card

Elliott Cribby, Seattle University's pitching coach, spotted Tarik Skubal at an Arizona tournament and left a business card. Skubal, a teenager from Kingman, Arizona, did not call. His father Russ — an elementary school teacher and principal who had coached high school basketball — told him to make the call. Skubal did. Cribby watched him throw at a camp and offered him a scholarship — the only Division I offer he received. Cribby later described him as quiet yet certain to outwork everyone.

Skubal had been overlooked, partly because of geography and partly because he was young for his grade. Detroit drafted him in the ninth round in 2018, 255th overall. He reached the majors on August 18, 2020.

Tigers

Skubal spent his entire major-league career with the Tigers until this summer. Over seven seasons he compiled 61 wins, 43 losses, a 3.06 ERA across 155 games — 152 of them starts — and a 1.01 career WHIP. The peak came in 2024 and 2025, when he won the Cy Young Award in both seasons and made the All-Star team each year.

On July 29, 2026, Skubal reached 1,000 career strikeouts, still in a Tigers uniform. The number spans 874.1 career innings.

Skubal was born in Hayward, California, and grew up in Kingman after his family relocated. He was born with a clubfoot on his left leg and underwent corrective surgery as an infant. The household was full: older brothers Trent and Tyler, younger brother Treyvor, and Wil Jones, a friend of Tyler's who moved in after Tyler asked. Russ and Laura Skubal agreed to it in about five minutes.

Weeks after the milestone, the Tigers traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is 29, a left-handed starting pitcher, with 1,017 career strikeouts.

Reporting: ESPN, MLB.com, The Athletic, Seattle University Athletics, Wikipedia. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.