Tigers’ Tarik Skubal sounds off amid criticism for leaving Team USA’s WBC run early

With Team USA in the middle of the World Baseball Classic, Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal left the team following their game against Great Britain. Though the team understood his decision, the outsiders were not the happiest with him only made one start for the team.

Skubal has heard about the criticism, and he opened up about leaving the team early in their run.

“It’s just not fair,” Skubal said via Jayson Stark of The Athletic. “But that’s part of the business. It’s part of the game. If they know me, though, and they know me on a personal level, and they know what my peers think of me, I don’t think it’s fair to say those things.”

Skubal was then asked if the criticism made his decision to leave made it harder.

“No, because a lot of those opinions and narratives are created by people that don’t know me, you know?” Skubal said. “And I think if you ask anyone in the clubhouse, my peers … you ask any peers in that clubhouse, on Team USA, they’ve all been pretty vocally supportive of what I’ve got going on.

“And they also made a big impact on (this decision). I talked to them all personally. I took a lot of those guys aside, and (they) helped me make a decision. So the narrative that’s created outside … I can’t control it. I want to control what I can control. … And I can’t control the narrative.”

Skubal is set to be a free agent after this season and is expected to secure a large contract. They may have had a little to do with his decision, but it also seems as if he wanted to do what was best for the Tigers as well.

Though he may not feel the best about his decision, as long as his Team USA teammates understand his situation, that’s all that should matter.

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