Justin Verlander was without a doubt one of his generation’s most dominant pitchers. In his heyday, he was a consistent American League All-Star who, while playing with the Houston Astros, won two World Series titles and three AL Cy Young Awards.
Regretfully, for the future Hall of Famer on the first ballot, this season is the last one. Folks, he just doesn’t have it anymore.
In his most recent start against the Los Angeles Angels, a division foe, Verlander pitched 4.2 innings and gave up six earned runs on eight hits.
Even though he only lasted 86 pitches, he did manage to strike out four batters. Verlander’s season ERA of 5.55 is by far the lowest of his career, thus I find it difficult to believe that he will even make the Astros postseason squad. He’s probably too familiar with this.
Verlander exited his latest start Friday night to a standing ovation from the Minute Maid Park crowd.
Verlander admitted that he probably rushed himself back from his neck injury a bit too prematurely.
Though he plans to make his last start of the year, it might be his last of his career as well.
It’s likely that Justin Verlander is aware that he only has one more start remaining.
Three things will stick in our memories of Verlander’s nearly two-decade career: his early ascent to superstardom in the middle of the 2000s while playing for the Detroit Tigers, his complete dominance for the better part of 15 years off the mound, and regrettably, his postseason struggles in Detroit—and most definitely with Houston. For his notable MLB clubs, Verlander gave it everything and then some.
We are forced more and more to rely on the eye test, even in a time when it is becoming harder for starting pitchers to record numbers that would earn them enshrinement in Cooperstown. There are roughly ten current Hall of Fame players in Major League Baseball at any given season.
The majority of them are starting pitchers at the moment. The three most apparent are Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, and Verlander.
Simply put, when it comes to the men who go on the field every sixth day, you recognize a Hall of Famer when you see one. Although Verlander’s Triple Crown and AL MVP campaign in 2011 likely sealed his entry into Cooperstown, his body of achievement over his 20s, 30s, and really early 40s is still incredibly remarkable. That he is no longer the pitcher he once was is a shame.
For the time being, we have to be grateful that we were all able to witness Verlander pitch for such a long time
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