Justin Verlander

Justin Brooks Verlander ( VUR-land-ər; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award recipient, and a two-time World Series champion, Verlander is considered to be one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.

Born in Manakin Sabot, Virginia, Verlander attended Old Dominion University (ODU) and played college baseball for the Monarchs. He broke the Monarchs' and Colonial Athletic Association's career records for strikeouts. At the 2003 Pan American Games, Verlander helped lead the United States national team to a silver medal. The Tigers selected Verlander with the second overall pick of the 2004 MLB draft, and he made his major league debut with the Tigers in 2005. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2006. In 2007, Verlander pitched the first no-hitter at Comerica Park. In 2009, he led the AL in wins and strikeouts, both for the first time. Verlander produced his most successful season in 2011, pitching his second career no-hitter and winning the Pitching Triple Crown, the AL Cy Young Award (unanimously), the AL MVP Award, and the Sporting News Player of the Year Award. Verlander played for Detroit for 12 years, becoming the ace in their starting rotation and a key figure in four consecutive AL Central division championships (2011–2014) and two AL pennants (in 2006 and 2012).

The Tigers traded Verlander to the Astros before the 2017 trade deadline, and he went undefeated in his first five starts heading into the postseason. He was named AL Championship Series MVP and was co-winner of the Babe Ruth Award as the Astros won the 2017 World Series. In 2018, Verlander earned his 200th career win. In 2019, Verlander became the sixth pitcher in MLB history to throw three career no-hitters. He also had his first career 300-strikeout season and won his second Cy Young award while leading the Astros to their second pennant in three seasons. Verlander missed most of the 2020 season and all of the 2021 season due to injury. He returned in 2022 and proceeded to win 18 games with a sub-2.00 ERA on his way to leading the Astros to their second world championship. He received his third Cy Young Award that offseason, making him the first Astro to win multiple Cy Young Awards. Verlander signed with the Mets in December 2022, was traded back to the Astros in August 2023, and signed with the Giants in January 2025. Following one season in San Francisco, Verlander returned to the Tigers on a one-year contract in 2026; halfway through the season, he announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2026 season.

Verlander was a ten-time MLB All-Star and led the AL in strikeouts five times, in earned run average twice, and in wins three times. He is one of eleven pitchers all-time to record 3,500 career strikeouts.