We reflect upon all the amazing moments from Justin Verlander’s 13-year stint with the Detroit Tigers, from 2005 to 2017.
We reflect upon all the amazing moments from Justin Verlander’s 13-year stint with the Detroit Tigers, from 2005 to 2017
Justin Verlander’s time with the Detroit Tigers is over. He was traded to the Houston Astros for a package of prospects late Thursday night as the Tigers get set to rebuild for the future.
Here are some of our favorite moments from Verlander’s 13-year stint with the Tigers. Are we missing any? Leave us your favorite memories in the comments!
In 2006, Verlander led the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984, finished seventh in Cy Young Award voting and 15th in MVP voting. Not bad, for a rookie. His baptism as the franchise’s ace-in-waiting ended with a landslide victory in American League Rookie of the Year voting, as he collected 26 of 28 first-place votes after going 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA. Verlander became the first Tiger to win the honor since Lou Whitaker in 1978.
The Free Press’ headline on June 12,2007 told the story: Verlander, then 24, became the fifth pitcher in franchise history — and first since Jack Morris in 1984 — to throw a no-hitter. The right-hander was masterful in a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out 12 in front of 33,555 at Comerica Park. It was the first no-hitter by a Tiger at home since Virgil Trucks in 1952.
Verlander’s pitching carried the Tigers to the American League Championship Series in 2011. And Verlander made history because of it. He finished 24-5 with a.240 ERA and became the first starting pitcher since 1986 to win the Cy Young Award and be voted Most Valuable Player in the same year. Verlander led the American League in victories, ERA, strikeouts (250) and inning pitched (251) and won 16 times after the Tigers lost a game, the most for any pitcher since 1972. He became the 10th pitcher to win Cy Young and MVP in the same year and the third Tiger, after Denny McLain in 1968 and Guillermo (Willie) Hernandez in 1984.
Verlander was selected to six American League All-Star teams as a Tiger, and he started the 2012 game in Kansas City. That start didn’t go so well — he made history by becoming the first All-Star pitcher to allow five runs in the first inning — but he bounced back to led the Tigers to the World Series. He made his final All-Star appearance in 2013.
The Tigers were historically bad in 2003, finished 43-119 and broke the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics’ American League record of 117 losses in a season. But being bad has its perks, and in this case it gave the Tigers their ace of the future. The Tigers used the second overall pick to select Verlander out of Old Dominion in the 2004 MLB draft. He made his Major League debut in 2005.
Verlander took a perfect game into the eighth inning. He settled for the second no-hitter of his career. Verlander affirmed his status among the game’s elite pitchers in the Tigers’ 9-0 victory over the Blue Jays on May 7,2011. He needed just four strikeouts and 108 pitches to become the second Tigers pitcher to throw two no-hitters. Trucks did it in one season, in 1952.
There was uproar in 2016 after Verlander fell short of winning his second Cy Young Award. Verlander’s supermodel fiance made sure of it. Kate Upton unleashed a series of tweets ripping two Tampa Bay writers who left Verlander off their ballots. Verlander received 14 of 30 first-place votes, six more than ex-Tiger Rick Porcello, who won the award. Upton’s initial tweet went viral: « Hey @MLB I thought I was the only person allowed to f*** @JustinVerlander?! What 2 writers didn’t have him on their ballot? »
After a rainout, Verlander started Game 2 of the 2006 American League Division Series against the Yankees, which boasted one of baseball’s most fearsome batting orders, Yet the rookie wasn’t fazed. Save for a three-run fourth, Verlander held the Yankees in check over 5 1/3 innings, and the Tigers rallied to a 4-3 victory. It was the Tigers’ first postseason win since Game 3 of the 1987 American League Championship Series with Minnesota. Verlander took a no-decision.
Verlander’s first win in a Tigers uniform came in dominating fashion. He allowed two hits over seven innings and struck out seven in a 7-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on April 8,2006. Verlander ranks seventh all-time in franchise history with 183 wins.
It hit the chalk and prevented history. Verlander flirted with his third no-hitter on Aug. 27,2015, before Los Angeles Angels catcher Chris Iannetta led off the ninth with a sharp double that grazed the leftfield foul line. Verlander was trying to join the likes of Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Cy Young and Larry Corcoran with three no-hitters. Instead, he felt the agony of being that close for the second time in his career. Verlander also carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 18,2012, before Josh Harrison’s one-out single.
Justin Verlander had gone 26 at-bats without a major-league hit. It was a running joke among Tigers players and fans alike. But on April 12,2014, he finally did it. He hit a single up the middle against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, much to the delight of his teammates. Verlander couldn’t help but smile.
Game 5. ALDS. Win or go home. On the road. Hostile territory. Who would you rather have on the mound? For two consecutive years, it was Justin Verlander who got the call to break a 2-2 series tie with the Oakland Athletics – and both times, he dominated the A’s, pitching a complete-game shutout in the 2012 do-or-die game and tossing eight shutout innings in the 2013 game. Both wins. Tigers move on. #MustSeeJV.
