Tarik Skubal left Team USA in the World Baseball Classic after his pool play appearance to go back and continue preparing for the 2026 MLB season with the Detroit Tigers. That decision has been met with plenty of criticism, and the outside noise grew louder on Saturday after his performance in spring training.
The 29-year-old left-hander took the mound for the Tigers and put on a dominant performance. He ended the day with seven strikeouts while allowing just three hits and one earned run through 4.2 innings pitched. He also generated 10 whiffs on 61 pitches in the Tigers' 6-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
After watching Tarik Skubal throw 61 pitches in a spring training game, MLB fans wondered why he couldn't have thrown that many pitches in an outing with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. They hopped on social media and called out Skubal for his decision to leave the WBC early.
“No one cares should [have done] this for USA,” said one fan.
Another user pondered, “If only this outing could’ve been used somewhere else…”
“I speak for everyone when I say we will be hate-watching [Skubal] all season,” claimed another individual.
This person asked, “So this was more important in a meaningless game for the Tigers than playing for his country? Got it.”
“Bro was afraid of facing real competition,” said this fan with a crying emoji.
One user stated, “The season is 100+ games, absolutely pathetic that he couldn’t stay 1 more week doing the exact same thing (pitching), with Team USA.”
“And he couldn't have done this for Team USA, why exactly?” asked another individual.
Tarik Skubal stated before the World Baseball Classic began that he was only planning on playing in one game with Team USA before heading back to spring training. The back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner also claimed that if the WBC were played in the middle of the MLB season, then he would feel more inclined to play throughout the entire tournament.
Skubal also claims that most serious injuries for pitchers take place in spring, and didn't want to put extra pressure on his arm in a playoff environment in the WBC before the 2026 campaign began.
