Justin Verlander

By: TR Sullivan

 

Justin Verlander, at age 37, underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery at the end of the 2020 season. Verlander, who pitched in just one game during the season, is expected to miss all of 2021.

At his age, it would seem difficult if not impossible for Verlander to come back from major surgery. He disagrees completely, given the surgery took place just one year after winning the second Cy Young Award of his career.

 

Verlander made it clear he feels the operation will not shorten but extend his career. Verlander is planning to pitch in 2022 and beyond, building on what is already a Hall of Farmer-worthy 16-year career with the Tigers and Astros.  

This is not the first time Verlander’s career has been in doubt since the Tigers made him out the second overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft out of Old Dominion. During his career, Verlander has been an eight-time All-Star and not only won two Cy Young Awards but finished second on three other occasions.  

Verlander was spectacular in 2011, winning the pitching “Triple Crown” by leading the American League with 24 wins, a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts. In addition to winning his first Cy Young Award, Verlander was also the American League’s Most Valuable Player.  

He received a bigger award in 2014 when he started dating model/actress Kate Upton. The two eventually married, have two children and have become active in their community by donating to a wide variety of causes including Hurricane Harvey and COVID-19 relief efforts. Upton has also not been shy about standing up for her husband, especially when she felt he should have won a Cy Young Award rather than finishing second.  

But Verlander struggled through a mediocre 2014 season, going 15-12 with a 4.48 ERA. He also ended a streak of five straight seasons of 200-plus strikeouts. The following year Verlander ended up on the Injured List for the first time in his career with a strained triceps and ended up making a career-low 20 starts.  

There were concerns Verlander was on the downside of his career but that did not prove to be the case. Verlander bounced back to win 16 games for the Tigers while leading the league in strikeouts. He finished a close second to Rick Porcello of the Red Sox in the Cy Young Award despite receiving 14 of 30 first place votes, six more than Porcello.  

That one did not sit well in the Verlander/Upton household, but there were better days ahead especially after an Aug. 31, 2017 trade to the Astros. Verlander helped pitch the Astros to their first World Series championship that October. Verlander followed with another strong season in 2018 and won his second Cy Young Award in ’19 while winning 21 games. The Astros went back to the World Series before losing to the Nationals in seven games.  

By any measure, Verlander is a lock to be elected to the Hall of Fame when his career is over. But for now, Cooperstown will have to wait. Verlander is not ready to hang it up.