When Tarik Skubal announced he was going to pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, it was greeted with overwhelming positivity from American fans while the rest of the world groaned at having to go up against one of the best pitchers in baseball.
But after Saturday night, non-Detroit Tigers fans might never cheer for Skubal again, as he ended his first and only start in the WBC after three innings, where he gave up a home run on the first pitch of the game.
While Team USA supporters were dreaming of a one-two punch of Skubal and NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes in the knockout rounds, the Tigers ace shut down that possibility when he announced he’s been pitching only one game at the WBC.
As the rest of the team would go on to finish the group stage and compete in the eight-team single-elimination bracket, Skubal would return to the Tigers’ spring training to prepare for the upcoming season.
The decision made fans furious online, wondering why he would take up a roster spot only to pitch in a shortened start against one of the weaker teams in the competition.
And then, on a night he needed to be perfect to not get any backlash, Skubal opened the game by giving up a home run to Nate Eaton.
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Although Skubal would go on to shut out the British team for the three innings he pitched, it didn’t matter. Blood was drawn, and fans upset at Skubal’s decision to abandon the team were ready to sink their teeth into one of the best pitchers on the planet.
“Tarik Skubal tried treating the World Baseball Classic like a 17U WWBA tournament and gave up a bomb on the first pitch to Great Britain,” posted a viewer of the game on X.
“Why even be on the team if you only give them 41 pitches?” asked another fan on social media.
“Skubal has been so embarrassing the past week,” a Yankee fan responded to Skubal’s outing.
Skubal talked about wanting to return for the semifinals or finals to hang out with the team if they got that far. Although he told Ken Rosenthal in a mid-game interview that it would be “very hard” to leave the squad after the game, the Team USA fans might not be too keen to see Skubal again this tournament unless he’s on the mound.
