Houston Sports - Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander

Born: February 20, 1983

Sport: Baseball (266-159 record, Rookie of the Year, MVP, 3-time Cy Young, 3 no-hitters, 10-time All-Star)

The 2026 Major League Baseball season ended today, and our local nine made the city proud by claiming the AL West title once again.  Every season there are many players who play their final professional games, whether planned or not.  If you're any kind of sports fan you're probably well aware that one of the greatest pitchers of all time called it a career yesterday, with Justin Verlander tossing his last game in Detroit where it all started.  And although it's pretty much a guarantee that he'll enter the Hall of Fame in a Tigers hat as soon as he becomes eligible in five years, he reached the pinnacle of team success as a member of the Houston Astros.  So while we all continue to tear up re-watching the emotional video of his daughter taking him out of his last game, let's review the story of one of the best to ever toe the rubber. 

Justin Verlander was the first of two sons born to Richard and Kathy Verlander in central Virginia, near Richmond in Goochland County.  Richard was a union man working in the telephone industry, and he was the one who first spotted baseball potential in his son.  On a trip to the lake one day, he challenged nine-year-old Justin to a competition in tossing rocks as far as they could.  While Richard felt good about his toss that made it most of the way across the body of water, the young man responded by hurling his rock across the entire thing.  In addition to playing Little League in Richmond, Justin also went to the Richmond Baseball Academy where he learned to maximize his natural arm strength to pitch fast and hard.  By the time Verlander got to Goochland High School he could surpass 80 mph on his fastball, and at the age of 18 during his senior season he averaged exactly two strikeouts for each of his 71 innings pitched.  For some reason, despite having such noticeable results and a 6' 5" frame that suggested he could have an even higher ceiling, none of the 1,400-plus names selected during the 2001 MLB Amateur Draft was his.  The sting stayed with Verlander as motivation for years, and instead of beginning his professional career he traveled to Old Dominion University to pitch for the Monarchs.

Arriving at college with a new Ford Mustang with license plates that read "BRNGNIT", Justin Verlander was certainly bringing the heat, reaching 97 mph in his first start and immediately stealing the coveted Friday night starts from upperclassmen.  With 427 collegiate strikeouts he set a record for the school and the conference that still stands, and left a reputation as being a quirky kid who backed up his bravado on the field.  During the 2004 MLB Draft, Verlander didn't have to wait long to hear his name, but even though he was taken second overall he still used the perceived slight of being chosen behind Matt Bush as fuel.  On July 4, 2005, Verlander made his major league debut for the Detroit Tigers after cruising through the minors with just 20 games under his belt, barely four years after every single team in the game passed on him for 39 rounds.  Although he lost both of the games he started for the Tigers that year, his first full season in 2006 was the stuff of legend.  Verlander became the first rookie in major league history to record 10 wins before the end of June, and not only did he earn Rookie of the Year recognition following his 17-9 campaign but also received votes for both Cy Young and MVP.  Detroit made it all the way to the World Series, and Verlander pitched in games one and five, but came out on the losing end both times to the victorious St. Louis Cardinals.  Undeterred, he didn't let off the gas in 2007, earning his first All Star selection on the back of his first career no-hitter, thrown on June 12 of that season.  After a down year in 2008 that saw him lead all of baseball in losses with 17, Verlander came back strong with another All Star campaign in 2009 that gave him a workhorse reputation - he led the MLB in starts, wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts, resulting in a third-place finish in Cy Young voting.

The Tigers rewarded Justin Verlander with a contract extension that reflected his status as one of the game's premier starting pitchers and he responded with a 2010 season that was nearly identical to the one before.  Then in 2011 he reached truly rare air, notching his second career no-hitter on May 7 while leading the AL in WAR and ERA as well as the entire MLB in starts, wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts.  By claiming the league's Triple Crown for pitchers (wins, strikeouts, and ERA) he was rewarded with an All Star selection, Cy Young award, and Most Valuable Player.  Verlander's 2011 season performance stands along side Sandy Koufax in 1963 and Denny McLain in 1968 as the most decorated single seasons of all time by a pitcher.  He continued to be a dominating pitcher for several years, coming close to recording additional no-hitters on numerous occasions and eventually earning a streak of five consecutive All Star selections and another runner-up finish for the Cy Young.  After reaching the World Series once again in 2012, but losing in a sweep to the San Francisco Giants, Detroit signed Verlander to a seven-year contract that made him the highest-paid pitcher in history.  After rushing back from an injury to start 2014 he had a sub-par year by his lofty standards and wasn't selected to the All Star team, and a year later he began the season with his first stint on the disabled list, ending his streak of seven consecutive Opening Day starts for the Tigers.  His 2016 season saw a return to form as he led the AL in WAR and strikeouts, as well as a win in his personal life as he was engaged to Kate Upton, one of the top models in the world. 

During the 2017 season, Justin Verlander faced a difficult choice.  The Detroit Tigers were in decline with no real postseason prospects, and he was one of the most coveted pitchers in the game.  As a veteran with 10 years in the league, including five with the same franchise, he had a full no-trade clause that allowed him to veto any trade proposal.  But the rising Houston Astros were offering a price that Detroit was willing to take in exchange for their world-class pitcher if he were willing to accept a move.  At the last minute, Verlander decided to take the chance to move away from a city that adored him for another chance at a title, and just before midnight on August 31, he was shipped to Houston.  The team was atop the AL standings, but the city was reeling from the devastation brought by Hurricane Harvey just five days prior.  He brought hope in the form of dominating pitching, winning each of his five regular season starts for the Astros, including the game that would clinch them the AL West crown.  Instantly embraced by the clubhouse and fan base, he helped the team push through the playoffs, inspiring team leader Jose Altuve to famously proclaim, "I literally love Justin Verlander" after defeating the New York Yankees in the ALCS to punch their ticket to the Fall Classic.  Verlander pitched well in the World Series but was only rewarded with a no-decision in game two and a loss in game six, his first defeat with the Astros and the first time he hadn't won a potential clinching game.  But all was forgiven and forgotten when Houston defeated the LA Dodgers in game seven, giving the star pitcher and the city their first championship.  JV quickly added another ring just two days later as he married Upton, and the pair would eventually have two children together.

Justin Verlander's time in Houston was impressive, and he followed up his first title season with All Star campaigns the next two years.  As he began to reach notable career milestones, including 200 wins and 2,500 strikeouts, many followers of the game started commenting that he could be the last of his type of pitcher.  After his third career Cy Young runner-up finish in 2018 he finally earned his second award in 2019, a season that saw him record his third career no-hitter and 3,000th strikeout.  He edged out teammate Garrit Cole for the award, only the 5th time teammates ever finished in the top two spots, and both recorded 300 strikeouts in the seasons, his only time to hit that number and just the 2nd time that teammates had both reached that plateau in a season.  Unfortunately, the Astros lost the 2019 World Series in seven games, and then the coronavirus epidemic that swept the world caused a major disruption in baseball.  Verlander started the first game of the shortened 2020 season and earned the win, but was shut down due to injury.  He ended up needing to have Tommy John surgery lost the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021 to recovery.  At the age of 39, nobody knew what to expect when he took the mound in 2022, but he blew the world away by topping the league with 18 wins and posting the lowest ERA season of his career at a paltry 1.75.  It was enough to earn Verlander his third career Cy Young, becoming the only Astros pitcher to win the award multiple times and joining Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers with 3 Cy Youngs and 3 no-hitters on their resume.  The Astros plowed through the playoffs that season, sweeping both the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees on their way to the World Series.  In game one against the Philadelphia Phillies, however, Verlander had a bad start as the Astros fell behind 0-1 in the series, and both fans and media began to murmur about his lack of success on the biggest stage.  Statistically, he was at risk of becoming the worst pitcher ever in World Series play, with six losses and a pair of no-decisions in eight career starts.  Finally, however, Verlander found redemption in a game five victory over Philly and he earned his second career ring.

After adding substantially to his trophy collection with Houston, Justin Verlander agreed to a contract with the New York Mets, joining former teammate and fellow pitcher superstar Max Scherzer in the Big Apple.  Although he earned a win against the Cincinnati Reds, becoming just the 21st pitcher to defeat all 30 MLB teams, and notched his 250th career win, Verlander's time with the Mets was ultimately short and forgettable.  In a surprise move, the Astros traded for Verlander after just 16 starts away from Houston and he returned to lead them to their seventh consecutive ALCS.  Having reached the age of 40, he still wanted to play and continue reaching milestones.  In 2024, however, time began to catch up with Verlander, and despite climbing into the top 10 strikeout pitchers of all time and becoming the first pitcher to debut in the 21st century to eclipse 260 wins, he ultimately finished with a losing record and became a free agent.  No longer a dominant pitcher, Verlander had one season with the San Francisco Giants before returning to Detroit.  Injuries limited his ability to play, and he was only able to start two games for the Tigers, but his final start was memorable.  In the penultimate game of the season, he threw 91 pitches in 5.1 innings before manager AJ Hinch, who had coached Verlander's first title run in Houston, sent his daughter Genevieve to the mound to pull him out of the game.  The emotional scene became the highlight of the weekend as we all thanked and bid farewell to the last pitcher of his kind, and the Tigers managed a walk-off win to send him off on a high note.  We're not sure what his future holds now that his playing days are done, but we all know it will soon include a plaque in Cooperstown.

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