Every winter, Tarik Skubal becomes a mad scientist. In the quiet corners of Detroit’s pitching lab, the Tigers ace grips baseballs like puzzle pieces, hunting for the perfect formula. The goal? To recreate the pitch, Clayton Kershaw’s slider. He’s watched it break bats and fool legends. He’s studied the spin, the tilt, and the wrist angles. And year after year, he’s failed.

“I’ve been trying to get Kershaw’s slider for four or five years, and I can’t get it,” Skubal confessed, his tone edged with exhaustion. “I just can’t get it.”

That’s not something you expect to hear from the reigning AL Cy Young winner — a guy who just led the league in ERA, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk ratio. Skubal’s fastball and changeup are elite; his slider is objectively good. But “good” doesn’t cut it when you’re chasing greatness. Especially when your benchmark is a future Hall of Famer making $7.5 million in Los Angeles Dodgers while throwing one of the nastiest breaking balls in the sport’s history.

“It’s frustrating,” Skubal continued. “But that’s the beauty of this game. You’re always just one cue away from figuring it out.”

That cue, though, remains elusive.

Pitchers these days enter spring training like tech startups — testing new pitches, tweaking old ones, and looking for that one edge. New pitches are celebrated, amplified by slow-mo breakdowns on Pitching Ninja, and dissected on analytics podcasts. But what about the pitches that don’t work? The ones that never sweep, never drop, never bite?

Skubal knows that side of the story intimately.

“I’ve been trying to throw a sweeper for three years,” he added. “Can’t get the ball to sweep.”

And yet, here he is, still dominating major league lineups. His coaches tell him to stop tinkering. They remind him he’s already at the top. But Skubal can’t shake the feeling that he’s inches away from something game-breaking.

“I’m like, dude, I know. But I’m so f—ing close,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the right grip and the right cue to come through. And I’m going to get it.”

That’s the mindset of a perfectionist. Or maybe just a pitcher who can’t stop chasing shadows, even when he’s already casting one of the biggest in baseball.

Dodgers’ unfinished business: Kershaw plots his return

Clayton Kershaw isn’t ready to close the book just yet, and if you thought a trio of surgeries would be the final chapter, think again. At 37, the Dodgers’ legendary lefty has made it clear: he plans to pitch in 2025. It’s not just lip service either. After a turbulent 2024 season marred by injuries to his shoulder, foot, and knee, Kershaw signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal this offseason, signaling both commitment and unfinished business. The Dodgers believe in him, and maybe more importantly, he still believes in himself.

So far, the comeback is quietly underway. He’s currently on the 60-day IL, but don’t let that fool you; Kershaw’s making noise in the minors. His second rehab start for Double-A Tulsa saw him touch vintage form: three innings, four strikeouts, and just one run allowed. No timeline has been set, but the signs are promising. And let’s be honest — few storylines would hit harder than a resurgent Kershaw down the stretch in 2025.

When legends restart the engine, it’s rarely just for show.