Justin Verlander pitches for the Mets and won two World Series titles with the Houston Astros, but he will always be a part of Detroit. It was there that he began his long career, winning the first of three Cy Young Awards and a Most Valuable Player Award and firing two of the three who failed. in his career.
So when three Tigers pitchers combined to hit the ninth miss in the club’s history – and the 20th missed shot in major league history – Verlander took notice. . So did the rest of his family: Their group chat quickly erupted with talk of the first missed player thrown at Comerica Park since Verlander handcuffed Milwaukee in 2007 and old highlights are shown during the broadcast.
“My wife told me how young she was when that happened and then someone else told me how young I look,” Verlander said, smiling and mumbling kindly a profanity emphasizes how long ago it happened.
Verlander doesn’t know Matt Manning, the Tigers’ right-hand man, who knocked out the Blue Jays in the first six and two-thirds of innings in Detroit’s win 2-0 on Saturday, he’s also unfamiliar with the breakers who have taken over since: Jason Foley (first and third half) and Alex Lange (first half). But more than any other active player, he knows that field, that city and that team’s history.
Verlander said: “Forever when certain things happen, I think my name will always come up. “As long as I’m playing there and I can achieve some great things there, when you’re tied to an organization like that, of course there’s a part of you that wants the best for you. them, no doubt.”
However, the Blue Jays may not wish Verlander or the Tigers well. Toronto was the opponent when Verlander hit the second missed shot of his career, on May 7, 2011, and it was the Blue Jays, again, that he failed as a member of the Houston Astros on September 1, 2019.
While Verlander was one of only six pitchers to throw three or more shots on target – Nolan Ryan (seven), Sandy Koufax (four) and Larry Corcoran, Bob Feller and Cy Young (three each) were the others. – he’s also gotten well used to combos without hitters. He did the digging for two of them last year: Houston’s Yankees’ drum in June (Cristian Javier, Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly) and the Astros’ memorable miss against Philadelphia in Game 4 of the World Series (Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Pressly).
In a festive way, Verlander said, pitchers getting together makes for a better celebration because it’s more team-based when more pitchers are involved. Verlander said the World Series’ missing player was “awesome, unbelievable.”
But at the same time, he points out, “doesn’t take anything away from the unsuccessful matchmaker, but you can even see in the media, like the way it was reported,” that achievement is different. And with the way the game is changing, he notes, non-cooperators will become the norm, not the exception. Indeed, 12 out of 20 have occurred since 2000, and nine of them have occurred since 2018.
While analysis played a major role in the change, with some teams adhering to the principle of not allowing pitchers to start facing an opponent’s batting order a third time in a game, it also raises the question of whether baseball is harming some by not properly developing starting pitchers.
“I hope the Major League doesn’t wait too long to sort that out because you get what you asked for, right?” Verlander said. “Teams are looking for players who can throw 100 mph and have a really good speed throw. So instead of developing a good pitch, as a young player you became obsessed with throwing the ball hard and spinning.
“So you break instead of waiting for yourself to grow naturally. So you get what you ask for.
Verlander, 40, said that he and teammate Max Scherzer, 38, who has beaten two career failures, sometimes discuss the topic. Between them, Verlander and Scherzer played in 939 games, threw 38 complete games, made 5,997⅔ innings and racked up 456 wins.
In a private chat on Friday, Scherzer said: “I can’t stand what I see from young pitchers. I don’t feel like anyone is growing arms anymore. All the arms are broken.”
In Manning’s case, the timing of his masterpiece is a factor in addition to modern strategy. Picked in the first round in the 2016 draft, Manning, 25, is just starting his fifth season after breaking a bone in his right foot in April. A shoulder pain has limited him to 12 games starting in 2022.
“He worked really hard,” Tigers Manager AJ Hinch told reporters after Saturday’s game. “I almost eliminated him after the fifth and after the sixth. I sent him out in seventh place, but once the runner got on we had to worry about winning the game.
Overall, the three Tigers pitchers combined 116 pitches and 9 shots. Manning took three strokes and hit one, while Foley and Lange were perfect in their shorter time.
It is, without a doubt, an achievement for all three pitchers, but one that comes without the same degree of distinction for a pitcher who has accomplished what he begin. Verlander believes that MLB needs to find a way to encourage teams to return to developing top starting pitchers who can be deeply involved in games. That can help create lasting memories for the fans who come to watch, rather than just letting them watch a bunch of tough pitchers.
“I hope we don’t look many years down the road and see a whole league of guys whose names are unknown,” Verlander said.
