Future first ballot Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander isn’t ready to call it a career.
Verlander enjoyed one of those magical nights when, on August 26th, during a 5-2 win against the Chicago Cubs, this 42-year-old turned back the clock as he not only pitched six solid innings for the win, but also made some baseball history.
During first inning action at Oracle Park, Verlander didn’t waste any time in making history as the 20-year veteran struck out the second batter he faced in former teammate Kyle Tucker, which moved him past Hall of Famer Walter Johnson and into ninth place on the all-time strikeout list with 3,516 in his illustrious career.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Verlander said. “Walter Johnson’s a legend. It’s one of those things, you take a lot of pride in it.”
Verlander and Tucker were teammates with the Houston Astros and share the bond of winning a World Series ring together back in 2022.
On this night, Verlander pitched six strong innings where he gave up only seven hits, two runs, two earned runs, and five strikeouts as he now has 3,520 strikeouts, which puts him only 14 behind Gaylord Perry for eighth all-time.
The pitchers ahead of Perry are Don Sutton (3,574), Tom Seaver (3,640), Bert Blyleven (3,701), Steve Carlton (4,136), Roger Clemens (4,672), and the all-time leader in Nolan Ryan, at 5,714.
Justin Verlander Surpasses Walter Johnson on MLB Strikeout List
Verlander Will Be A First Ballot Hall of Famer
Verlander was drafted first round, second overall in the 2004 draft by the Detroit Tigers.
Currently in his 20th MLB season, Verlander has pitched for the Tigers, Astros, New York Mets, and this year, the San Francisco Giants.
With that most recent win against the Cubs, Verlander now has 264 career wins, which places him 40th on the all-time list. In his career, Verlander has a 264-157 record to go along with a 3.34 ERA and, as mentioned, the 3,520 strikeouts, which are all first-ball Hall of Fame statistics.
The one other impressive statistic about Verlander is that he has thrown three no-hitters, which places him one behind Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax and four behind the leader, once again Ryan.
A deeper look at Verlander’s statistics shows that he has won three Cy Young Awards, with the first coming in 2011 when, with the Tigers, he posted a 24-5 record with a 2.40 ERA along with 250 strikeouts in 251.0 innings.
Seven years later, pitching for the Astros, Verlander went 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA and 300 strikeouts in winning his second Cy Young Award.
Verlander’s third Cy Young Award came in 2022 when the veteran went 18-4 with 185 strikeouts and a 1.75 ERA. Besides winning the three Cy Youngs, Verlander has also finished as runner-up on three occasions in 2012, 2016, and 2018.
Verlander Isn’t Looking at Retirement
When asked by John Shea of the San Francisco Standard about his plans for next year, Verlander didn’t rule out coming back for a 21st season.
He’ll be turning 43 this off-season, and despite struggling by posting a 2-10 record with a 4.47 ERA, he hasn’t ruled out returning somewhere on a one-year contract.
“At this point in my career, if something goes really wrong, I’m not going to rehab a surgery or anything,” he said. “I always understand that it could be it, but I think physically, I’ve shown some good health this season. As I’ve been on the mound, things have started to get better and better. To me, that’s a good sign with all the work I put in after my nerve injury last year, which notoriously takes a long time. The ball’s rolling in the right direction, and I would like to continue pitching. You never know. It’s a fickle game too, but I think the stuff is still there.”
Main Image: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
