Tigers Ace Earned His All-Star Moment With Help From a Rival Arm

Tarik Skubal got the tip he was starting the All-Star Game—not from the man making the decision, but from the other pitcher who could’ve taken the ball himself.

Before Yankees manager Aaron Boone officially made the call, Max Fried picked up the phone.

“He asked me if I wanted to start,” Skubal told Evan Woodbury of MLive Media Group.

At first, Skubal deferred. This is Atlanta, after all. Fried spent most of his career there, earned All-Star nods there, and probably would’ve received the loudest ovation of the night. But Fried pushed back.

“I think you deserve it,” Fried told him. “I was just wondering if you wanted to start it.”

Skubal acknowledged that he did. A day later, Boone called and confirmed it—Skubal would start Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

“It was actually a really cool conversation,” Skubal said of his talk with Fried. “It’s a very professional thing to do, and I've got a ton of respect for guys that do stuff like that.”

The conversation happened before Fried developed a blister that ultimately made him unavailable to pitch in the game. But even before that setback, Fried had already stepped aside and helped make the moment possible.

It’s the kind of gesture you don’t always hear about. Two All-Stars, two competitors, and one moment of quiet class. Fried could have started the game without question, but instead handed the spotlight to a guy in the middle of a breakout year.

Skubal leads all AL pitchers in WAR and has been one of the biggest reasons Detroit is in contention. Now, he becomes the first Tigers pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Max Scherzer in 2013.

On numbers alone, he earned it. But a little respect from a peer helped make it real.