MVP & Cy Young Profile: Justin Verlander, 2011

Pitcher, Detroit Tigers

Age:  28

6^th season with Tigers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 225 

Prior to 2011:

A native of Virginia, Verlander was impressive pitching at Goochland High School where he struck out 394 batters over three varsity seasons. A bout with strep throat as a senior damaged his draft prospects. Moving on to Old Dominion University, the lanky hurler’s velocity increased and he was 7-6 with a 1.90 ERA as a freshman. In 2003, his record dropped to 7-6 with a 2.40 ERA, although he led the Colonial Athletic Association in strikeouts with 139 in 116 innings. He pitched for the silver medal-winning USA team in the Pan American Games as well. An all-conference selection as a junior in 2004, Verlander was chosen by the Tigers in the amateur draft with the second overall pick. Signing with Detroit, he was initially assigned to Lakeland of the high Class A Florida State League in 2005 where he posted a 9-2 tally with a 1.67 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 86 innings pitched. Promoted to the Erie SeaWolves of the Class AA Eastern League later in the season, he was 2-0 in seven starts with a 0.28 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. Demonstrating excellent control, his repertoire featured a fastball and breaking ball. Verlander received a late call-up to the Tigers and after going 0-2 with a 7.15 ERA, he was shut down due to a tired arm. He joined Detroit’s rotation for the 2006 season where he had an outstanding year with a club that won the AL pennant. He went 17-9 wirh a 3.63 ERA, struck out 124 batters in 186 innings pitched, and received league Rookie of the Year recognition. The Tigers dropped to second place in the AL Central in 2007, but Verlander continued his development as he pitched a no-hitter against the Brewers and was an All-Star for the first time on his way to an 18-6 record with a 3.66 ERA and 183 strikeouts. Detroit struggled in 2008 and Verlander ended up leading the AL in losses with his 11-17 record and his ERA rose to 4.84. He still registered 163 strikeouts while pitching 201 innings. He rebounded in 2009 with a 19-9 tally and 3.45 ERA while topping the league in innings pitched (240) and strikeouts (269). Verlander had another strong season in 2010 in which he went 18-9 with a 3.37 ERA and 219 strikeouts.

2011 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 34 [1, tied with four others]

Complete Games – 4 [4, tied with six others]

Wins – 24 [1]

Losses – 5

PCT - .828 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 2 [5, tied with Jered Weaver & Ricky Romero]

Innings Pitched – 251 [1]

Hits – 174

Runs – 73

Earned Runs – 67

Home Runs – 24 [9, tied with Brad Penny & Josh Tomlin]

Bases on Balls – 57

Strikeouts – 250 [1]

ERA – 2.40 [1]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 2 [1, tied with seven others]

Wild Pitches – 7

League-leading wins were +5 ahead of runner-up CC Sabathia

League-leading win percentage was +.028 ahead of runner-up Ivan Nova

League-leading innings pitched were +1.2 ahead of runner-up James Shields

League-leading strikeouts were +20 ahead of runner-up CC Sabathia

League-leading ERA was -0.01 lower than runner-up Jered Weaver

Midseason Snapshot: 12-4, ERA - 2.15, SO - 147 in 151 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 14 (in 8 IP) vs. Arizona 6/25

10+ strikeout games – 4

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 0 (in 9 IP) at Toronto 5/7 (No-hitter with 1 BB & 4 strikeouts. Tigers won 9-0)

Batting

PA – 4, AB – 4, R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 3, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 50

Put Outs – 12

Assists – 33

Errors – 5

DP – 2

Pct. - .900

Postseason Pitching: G – 4 (ALDS vs. NY Yankees – 2 G; ALCS vs. Texas – 2 G)

GS – 4, CG – 0, Record – 2-1, PCT – .667, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 20.1, H – 19, R – 12, ER – 12, HR – 2, BB – 10, SO – 25, ERA – 5.31, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 2

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Justin Verlander, Det.: 280 points – 13 of 28 first place votes, 71% share

Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos.: 242 points – 4 first place votes, 62% share

Jose Bautista, Tor.: 231 points – 5 first place votes, 59% share

Curtis Granderson, NYY: 215 points – 3 first place votes, 55% share

Miguel Cabrera, Det.: 193 points – 2 first place votes, 49% share

(1 first place vote for Michael Young, Tex., who ranked eighth)

AL Cy Young voting:

Justin Verlander, Det.: 196 points – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share

Jered Weaver, LAA: 97 points – 49% share

James Shields, TB: 66 points – 34% share

CC Sabathia, NYY: 63 points – 32% share

Jose Valverde, Det.: 28 points – 14% share

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Tigers went 95-67 to finish first in the AL Central Division by 15 games over the Cleveland Indians. The pitching staff led the league in saves (52). The Tigers, led by Verlander’s pitching and 1B Miguel Cabrera’s hitting, further helped themselves by adding RHP Doug Fister in a July trade with Seattle and nailed down their first division title since 1987 with a 12-game September winning streak. Won ALDS over the New York Yankees, 3 games to 2. Lost ALCS to the Texas Rangers, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of ‘11:

Moving on to 2012, Verlander posted a 17-8 record while topping the circuit with 238.1 innings pitched and 239 strikeouts. Along the way took a no-hit bid against Pittsburgh into the ninth inning before having to settle for a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts He finished a close second in AL Cy Young balloting. The Tigers advanced to the World Series, helped by Verlander’s fine pitching in the ALDS and ALCS, but were swept by the Giants in the Series. Prior to the 2013 season, he signed a five-year, $140 million contract extension. He went 13-12 for the AL Central champs with a 3.46 ERA and 217 strikeouts and was also impressive in the postseason which resulted in the Tigers beating Oakland in the ALDS before coming up short against the Red Sox in the ALCS. In the offseason he underwent surgery to treat a sports hernia that was suffered during his conditioning regimen. He started off slowly in 2014 but finished strong to end up with a 15-12 tally and 4.54 ERA and 159 strikeouts while pitching 206 innings. Verlander missed the first two months of the 2015 season due to a right triceps strain. The result was a 5-8 mark with a 3.38 ERA and 113 strikeouts over the course of 133.1 innings. He rebounded in 2016 with a 16-9 record and 3.04 ERA while topping the AL with 254 strikeouts. He placed second in league Cy Young Award voting. With the Tigers struggling in 2017 and looking to re-tool, Verlander was dealt to the Houston Astros on August 31. 10-8 with Detroit, he went 5-0 the rest of the way to finish at 15-8 with a 3.36 ERA and 219 strikeouts. Houston topped the AL West and Verlander won two games in the ALDS victory over Boston and was MVP of the ALCS triumph over the Yankees thanks to another two wins. He suffered his first loss as an Astro in the World Series against the Dodgers, won by Houston in seven games (which later became tainted by allegations that the Astros stole opponents’ signs by use of electronic means). Houston won the AL West again in 2018 and Verlander contributed a 16-9 record with a 2.52 ERA and a league-leading 290 strikeouts. He placed second in league Cy Young voting. In 2019 he won the Cy Young Award due to a 21-6 tally with a 2.58 ERA and 300 strikeouts while leading the AL with 223 innings pitched. He had groin surgery in 2020 and pitched one game in the pandemic-shortened season due to an elbow injury that required “Tommy John” surgery and sidelined him for all of 2021. Overcoming concerns regarding his ability to recover and come back in good form at age 39, his start in 2022 has been very successful. To date through his first 12 appearances in 2022, Verlander has a 234-131 career major league record with a 3.33 ERA, 26 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 3091 strikeouts in 3066.2 innings pitched. With Detroit his record was 183-114 with a 3.29 ERA, 26 complete games, 9 shutouts, and 2373 strikeouts in 2511 innings. A two-time Cy Young Award winner, he has also been an eight-time All-Star (6 with the Tigers). Appearing in 31 postseason games, he has posted a 14-11 tally with a 3.40 ERA and 205 strikeouts over 187.2 innings. Verlander has established himself as one of the elite pitchers of his era.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

 

 

Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.