#MCM- Justin Verlander, SP, Detroit Tigers
@Hoover__26 June 13
Baseball is full of dominant pitchers, and seemingly always has been. When one set of aces are beginning to leave the mound, the next are on their way to it. However, the changing of the guards at the starting pitcher position is usually quite often due to the strenuous nature of the job. Throwing the ball in a motion that is not inherently natural for the human arm, 100-plus times a day, every four or five days. So, when a pitcher is able to maintain dominance for a longer period of time, he is an elite commodity. However, it is certain that even those who can do it, day in and day out, for years and years will eventually lose their ability to dominate batters. It’s surely not unheard of for this ability to be gone seemingly overnight. But, what is almost unheard of is suddenly regaining your grip on those abilities nearly as quickly as it slipped away.
In 2014, Justin Verlander’s ERA ballooned to 4.54, higher than it had been since his outlier 2008 in which he lost 17 games (keep in mind that 2008 was sandwiched between two All-Star seasons). Then, last year he was only able to throw 133.1 innings and go 5-8. It appeared that the six time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP winner’s talents were significantly diminishing. However, after busting out this year with a pace that could, according to espn.com, “challenge 250 strikeouts, the number of whiffs he amassed in 2011 when he won the MVP award”, it seems like the Verlander we knew is back again.
This week’ #MCM is back in the top 15 in scoring for pitchers this year, which may come to quite a shock to many fantasy drafters. Verlander was the 33rd starting pitcher taken on average in espn.com drafts, 2 spots later than Michael Wacha and a staggering 20 spots behind Chris Archer. I don’t mean to gloat (ok, maybe a little), but I predicted a rebound for Verlander. He was never the most efficient pitcher in the game, but he won a ton of games and had crazy strikeout stuff. While injuries were holding him down, I didn’t see all that much of the great stuff and winning presence disappear last year. Now, Verlander is back in the top 10 in strikeouts and has a lower WHIP than guys like Madison Bumgarner, Stephen Strasburg and Cole Hamels.
When I said Verlander won a ton of games, I really mean it. He is 4th on the active list for wins (the youngest in the top 5 by two years), and the only active pitcher in the top 500 in single season wins. While he didn’t come close to Old Hoss Radbourn’s record, it’s still a testament to the rarity of a pitcher of Verlander’s stature. Verlander is also 21st all time in Cy Young Award shares, finishing in the top 10 five times in his career.
With all the wins, and the strikeouts (over 2,000 of them), and everything else that makes Verlander a legendary pitcher, my favorite story about this week’s #MCM has nothing to do with any of that. Legend has it, when Verlander was in 10th grade, he asked his friend (who is still friends with him today) for fifty cents to buy some Chocolate Milk. Ever the bargainer, his friend wrote up a contract that if Verlander became a pro pitcher, he would owe him 0.1% of his signing bonus in exchange for the money now. Thirst can do crazy things to someone, and Verlander agreed. Now, that kind of thing is usually expected to go by the wayside and end up forgotten (especially due to the odds that the payee actually ends up a pro with a signing bonus). However, years later, Verlander was presented with the questionably legal document (which was written on a napkin). Verlander came through with his end of the bargain, which resulted in a net loss of $3,119.50 (if you value the chocolate milk at more than cost, Verlander himself stated he was “parched”, then the result is less of a loss).
This week’s #MCM is one of the most iconic and talented pitchers of this era, and with his career arc taking a big bounce back up, who knows how long he can continue to dominate.
In 2014, Justin Verlander’s ERA ballooned to 4.54, higher than it had been since his outlier 2008 in which he lost 17 games (keep in mind that 2008 was sandwiched between two All-Star seasons). Then, last year he was only able to throw 133.1 innings and go 5-8. It appeared that the six time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP winner’s talents were significantly diminishing. However, after busting out this year with a pace that could, according to espn.com, “challenge 250 strikeouts, the number of whiffs he amassed in 2011 when he won the MVP award”, it seems like the Verlander we knew is back again.
This week’ #MCM is back in the top 15 in scoring for pitchers this year, which may come to quite a shock to many fantasy drafters. Verlander was the 33rd starting pitcher taken on average in espn.com drafts, 2 spots later than Michael Wacha and a staggering 20 spots behind Chris Archer. I don’t mean to gloat (ok, maybe a little), but I predicted a rebound for Verlander. He was never the most efficient pitcher in the game, but he won a ton of games and had crazy strikeout stuff. While injuries were holding him down, I didn’t see all that much of the great stuff and winning presence disappear last year. Now, Verlander is back in the top 10 in strikeouts and has a lower WHIP than guys like Madison Bumgarner, Stephen Strasburg and Cole Hamels.
When I said Verlander won a ton of games, I really mean it. He is 4th on the active list for wins (the youngest in the top 5 by two years), and the only active pitcher in the top 500 in single season wins. While he didn’t come close to Old Hoss Radbourn’s record, it’s still a testament to the rarity of a pitcher of Verlander’s stature. Verlander is also 21st all time in Cy Young Award shares, finishing in the top 10 five times in his career.
With all the wins, and the strikeouts (over 2,000 of them), and everything else that makes Verlander a legendary pitcher, my favorite story about this week’s #MCM has nothing to do with any of that. Legend has it, when Verlander was in 10th grade, he asked his friend (who is still friends with him today) for fifty cents to buy some Chocolate Milk. Ever the bargainer, his friend wrote up a contract that if Verlander became a pro pitcher, he would owe him 0.1% of his signing bonus in exchange for the money now. Thirst can do crazy things to someone, and Verlander agreed. Now, that kind of thing is usually expected to go by the wayside and end up forgotten (especially due to the odds that the payee actually ends up a pro with a signing bonus). However, years later, Verlander was presented with the questionably legal document (which was written on a napkin). Verlander came through with his end of the bargain, which resulted in a net loss of $3,119.50 (if you value the chocolate milk at more than cost, Verlander himself stated he was “parched”, then the result is less of a loss).
This week’s #MCM is one of the most iconic and talented pitchers of this era, and with his career arc taking a big bounce back up, who knows how long he can continue to dominate.