Houston Astros: Justin Verlander credits Kate Upton with his career resurrection

After 6 All-Star selections in 7 seasons and even an MVP award, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander had fallen on hard times. Did the love of a woman help him get back on track?

Before he joined the Houston Astros, Justin Verlander was one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball. From 2009-2013, Verlander had a 5-year run as incredible as any pitcher could claim in the last 20 years or so, averaging 18 wins, 234 innings, a 3.05 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 65/239 BB/K ratio.

Then it was as if Verlander hit a wall in his career. He posted a 4.54 ERA in 2014 and struggled with injuries in 2015. The once-dominant Verlander was only striking out 19% of hitters.

Then, seemingly as suddenly as he fell off, Verlander was back. In 2016, he went 16-9 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, posting a 57/254 BB/K ratio, leading the league in strikeouts and WHIP. Last season, he had another stellar year split between Detroit and Houston. This year, Verlander is leading the league in starts, with a 2.50 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 158 1/3 innings, posting a 28/206 BB/K ratio.

So what caused this change?

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According to an article with Bleacher Report, the love of a good woman!

Kate Upton, now Verlander’s wife, suggested to the hurler that he work on his flexibility, especially through his core, in order to lessen the stress in his ailing shoulder. Working with a physical therapist, he reworked his flexibility from the toes on up, rather than working from the arm down.

The results were obvious and immediate, and they’ve simply gotten better as the body has slowly developed more strength in that flexibility, allowing Verlander to reach premium velocity late in starts the way he could in younger days as if he hadn’t put over 2,000 innings on his arm and his body.

Whether Upton was the key to the Houston Astros ace getting his mojo back on the mound or not, it’s worked for Justin Verlander, and Houston Astros fans should certainly be happy as the future father is enjoying the game as much as he has in nearly a decade!