VER-LAN-DER

Verlander's career path has him heading towards Cooperstown.

This morning (October 14th), I woke up, got ready for work and prepared for a big day of prep with my wife at the restaurant. We were slammed, we knocked it out, and what kept me going through the day was knowing the fact that we would get out in time for the Yankees-Astros game, and that I would be able to cheer my boy, Justin Verlander on.

I knew since that morning, he was going to rise to the occasion, and as I left work and was saying good-bye to my friends for the day, one of them asked me what I was going to do after work, and I said without hesitation, "I'm going to watch my boy dominate the Yankees".

Many of my readers, many of my friends from my APBA Facebook Group all know how much of a Justin Verlander fan that I am. He is my favorite active player in the game, and has been since he was a rookie. I never wavered, never doubted him, and have always believed in him. There has been many fans of the game that have for about 3-4 years now, that did give up on him, even ones that claimed they were die-hard Tigers fans, saying that Justin was on the decline... I laughed at all this.

His performance the other night was a gem that reminded me of performances such as Game 7 of the 1991 World Series between John Smoltz and Jack Morris. Never in my time of cheering him on have I ever witnessed such a performance by Justin (of course, I happened to miss the two no-hitters). His performance moved me so much that I found myself tearing up between the bottom of the 8th & top of the 9th. I knew what he was capable of, while many gave up on him long ago, I was still blown away regardless.

Not to do a whole history lesson here, but as you all may know, J.V. suffered a serious injury that effected his physical ability, which is reflected in 2014 & 2015's statistics. His injury required surgery to his major core area (abdominal region), which also effected his right shoulder a bit as well, his velocity was down. Injuries happen in this game, and it's the great ones that get back up & learn new ways & lessons to get back to the very top.

He should have won the A.L. Cy Young Award last season, and barely lost the award to Tampa Bay's David Price in 2012; He could easily have 3 Cys by now. Personally, if I had a vote in this year's Cy Young, I would make him my 1st vote, I know it sounds crazy, and yes I am saying this in a half-serious way, but in the last couple months, he has been the best pitcher in baseball... not one of the best, or among the best, he has been the best pitcher... To say he wasn't, would be like admitting you have been living in a cave or something.

It's absurd what he has accomplished not only in the last couple months, but his entire career. Here is a quick look at his career from a glance...

• Drafted 1st Round (2nd Overall) in the 2004 June Amateur Draft, out of Old Dominion University.
• 2006 American League Rookie-of-the-Year Award winner.
• 2006 & 2012 World Series appearances.
• 2011 A.L. MVP & Cy Young Award winner, becoming the 1st starting pitcher to get both awards in the same season since Roger Clemens (1986).
• 2011 Triple Crown (for pitchers) - leading the league in wins (24), ERA (2.40) & strikeouts (250).
• 2,373 Career strikeouts as a Tiger, is 2nd to Mickey Lolich (2,679); More than Hall-of-Famer Hal Newhouser's 1,770 K's.
• Career record of 188-114, with a 3.46 ERA & 2,416 strikeouts.
• Career WAR of 56.6
• 2017 Season WAR (6.4) - best since 2012. 

Now some more in-depth statistics...

• His 2009-2012 stretch was simply brilliant: 78-31 (.716 winning pct), with 977 K's, 1.076 WHIP & a combined 26.1 WAR; Those 4 seasons average out to a 20-8 record, 2.95 ERA, 244 K, along with a 145 ERA+ to go along with a average WAR of 6.5 WAR per season -- To put his 2017 performance into perspective, he had a season WAR of 6.4, meaning he is pitching as good as he did during his 2009-2012 stretch, which he has accomplished in his white-hot second half.

• His Houston Astros numbers: Perfect 5-0 in 5 regular season starts, featuring a 1.06 ERA, 0.647 WHIP & 43 strikeouts in 34 innings, while holding opponents to a .149 batting average and .192 on-base percentage.
• Career 6-0 record in League Division Series [LDS] play.
• Career Post-Season record (entering 2017 Game 2 ALCS): 9-5, 3.36 ERA, 1.103 WHIP with 115 strikeouts in 107 innings (18 games / 17 game started).
• Most Postseason games with 10+ strikeouts in MLB history with 7 total; Randy Johnson & Bob Gibson had 5. 
• His 128 strikeouts in the postseason is tops among active pitchers.

The Houston Astros got him on the very last minute of the final-final trade deadline on August 30th, and Verlander & Houston have not looked back. The only regret would be Houston thinking they could have got him even earlier.

Verlander continues to pad his excellent postseason numbers as they should help solidify his resume for Cooperstown. With him now playing for a winner again, he will achieve 200 wins next season (which he would have with Detroit even) & now will be competing for the 250 mark. The last few years with the Tigers, it's safe to sat that he has probably lost about 10-12 potential wins, so he would probably already have 200+ wins at this moment even.

In today's game, with bullpens eating up starting pitchers' opportunities for wins, 250 wins will be the new '300' marker. It's been like this for some time, and at age 30, both CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander had the best chances for 300 wins among active players, which is now looking impossible.

Although I am talking about wins, let it be known, that I believe wins is the most overrated pitching statistic in all of baseball. Wins really comes down to luck, being in the right place at the right time to accumulate the wins, having a team that keeps the lead after a starting pitcher is taken out of the game, etc etc....

There are more telling pitching stats that paint a picture of Verlander, being a Hall-of-Fame pitcher than wins will ever tell. His career strikeouts sit at 2,416 K, and at his current rate, he will pass the 3,000 mark (which is another Hall bench-mark number). His lifetime WAR (56.6) is higher than Mordecai Brown (56.4) and Waite Hoyt (51.8) both Hall of Fame pitchers -- while his career WAR is higher than Joe Medwick (55.6), Enos Slaughter (55.1), Billy Herman (54.7) & Sam Rice (52.9) who are Hall of Fame players. 

Comparing Hoyt to Verlander:

• Waite Hoyt (51.8 WAR): 237-182 (.591 winning pct), 3.59 ERA, 1.340 WHIP & 1,206 strikeouts (112 ERA+)
• Justin Verlander (56.6 WAR): 188-114 (.623 winning pct), 3.46 ERA, 1.184 WHIP & 1.184 WHIP & 2,416 strikeouts (124 ERA+).

Verlander clearly has double the strikeouts, much-better WHIP, with similar ERA & winning percentages, while Hoyt accomplished most of his winning percentage (157-98, .616 pct) with having the privilege that comes with wearing pinstripes; Hoyt accomplished his better ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates (3.06) actually. 

The Hall of Fame should be about players reflecting their eras, and Justin Verlander, along with Clayton Kershaw are among the best of their era, while at the same time we can measure up players to those already enshrined (such as Hoyt). When you keep bouncing around the numbers, Verlander is indeed a Hall of Fame pitcher. Things that will solidify his case will be 230-250 career wins, 3,000 K's (which should be a shoe-in), and lowering his career ERA.