Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander in Line for Cy Young And Comeback Player Of The Year Consideration
From 2006 to 2013 there wasn’t a better pitcher in baseball than Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander. Since then, everything has gone backwards for him. But this year, Verlander has reemerged has a premier pitcher in the American League once again. A potential Cy Young candidate, he’s at least in line for the Comeback Player Of The Year award.
There was a time not too long ago when Justin Verlander would barely be breaking a sweat by the time the 7th inning stretch rolled around. Put a runner on second with one out in the eighth and he’d routinely come right back at you striking the next two batters out with a 97 plus rising fastball. He was that kind of pitcher back then. Dominating, fearsome, and most of all, durable.
From 2006 to 2012, he put up numbers that spelled Hall Of Fame. His highlight year came in 2011 when he went 24-8 averaging a strikeout per inning (250) with a career best 2.40 ERA. Suddenly though, he turned into a .500 pitcher in 2013-14 and in 2014 his ERA exploded to an alarming 5.46.
Then, it all came crashing down with a series of injuries that began with a core muscle injury that required surgery in January of 2014. Other injuries followed and suddenly stories were routinely appearing in Detroit and elsewhere , such as this one in SB Nation, asking “Is Justin Verlander Declining Or Just Recovering?”
Even more alarming than the string of injuries though was the disassociating appearance and demeanor of Verlander on and off the mound. And then, there was the “other thing “. The other thing that seemed to be bigger than all the other things.
Justin Verlander and Kate Upton, professional baseball player and supermodel. Page Six material that advanced from dating to engagement, culminating with their marriage in 2016.
Noticeable also were the objections of Upton’s father, a stat obsessed man who was concerned about Verlander’s rising FIP on the baseball field. In case you haven’t heard of that one, it’s something called Fielding Independent Pitching numbers (good God!).
Suffice it to say though, there were valid questions about whether or not Justin Verlander had lost the competitive edge that had driven him to heights seldom reached by his peers in the world of baseball. And since most men find themselves occasionally “distracted” by Kate Upton, had Verlander gone over the edge leaving most of his baseball career behind him.
The answer has come this year. Justin Verlander is back! At 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA, he is once again a dominant force in the American League. And he’s doing it with all of the power he had averaging more than a strikeout per inning.
Moreover, he’s carried his Tigers into the thick of the Wild Card race which is territory few had predicted the Tigers would be in this year. It hasn’t hurt either that he’s healthy again (251 innings pitched and counting), but it’s the obvious return of that cutting edge competiveness that has caught the eye of baseball fans.
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And while his numbers this year should qualify him as a serious candidate for the Cy Young, he most certainly should be a shoo-in for the Comeback Player Of The Year award in the American League as one of the best “feel good” stories in the 2016 baseball season.