Justin Verlander, baseball player, 2005

Justin Verlander

Born: 2/20/1983 in Manakin Sabot, VA, USA

MLB Debut: 2005-07-04

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'5" | Weight: 235 lbs

Full name: Justin Brooks Verlander

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Biography

Justin Verlander is an accomplished pitcher born in 1983, who has made a significant mark on Major League Baseball since his debut in 2005. Currently an active player, Verlander boasts an impressive career record of 262-147 and maintains a career earned run average (ERA) of 3.3. With 3,416 strikeouts to his name, he ranks among the top strikeout pitchers of his generation, showcasing a dominant fastball and a deep repertoire that has evolved over the years. Verlander's ability to perform in high-pressure situations is a hallmark of his playing style, making him a formidable presence on the mound. Throughout his career, Verlander has received numerous accolades, including the MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie and the Rookie of the Year honors, highlighting his immediate impact upon entering the league. He is also a multiple-time All-Star, with 9 selections reflecting his consistency and excellence over the years. In addition, Verlander has earned the prestigious Cy Young Award, solidifying his status as one of the premier pitchers in the game. As he continues to compete at a high level, Verlander's legacy is firmly established within the context of modern baseball, demonstrating both resilience and skill in an era that has seen significant changes in pitching dynamics and player performance.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
266 158 555 555 26 9 0 3567.7 3046 1317 371 1004 3553 3.32 0

Career ERA 3.32 vs. league average 4.18 across their career seasons — 20.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2005 DET AL 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 11.3 15 9 5 7 7.15 4.29 (-67%) -65.1
2006 DET AL 17 9 30 30 1 1 0 186.0 187 75 60 124 3.63 4.53 (+20%) 874.7
2007 DET AL 18 6 32 32 1 1 0 201.7 181 82 67 183 3.66 4.47 (+18%) 2519.2
2008 DET AL 11 17 33 33 1 0 0 201.0 195 108 87 163 4.84 4.32 (-12%) 743.2
2009 DET AL 19 9 35 35 3 1 0 240.0 219 92 63 269 3.45 4.32 (+20%) 9573.5
2010 DET AL 18 9 33 33 4 0 0 224.3 190 84 71 219 3.37 4.08 (+17%) 6525.5
2011 DET AL 24 5 34 34 4 2 0 251.0 174 67 57 250 2.40 3.94 (+39%) 6261.9
2012 DET AL 17 8 33 33 6 1 0 238.3 192 70 60 239 2.64 4.01 (+34%) 6694.1
2013 DET AL 13 12 34 34 0 0 0 218.3 212 84 75 217 3.46 3.87 (+10%) 3357.2
2014 DET AL 15 12 32 32 0 0 0 206.0 223 104 65 159 4.54 3.74 (-21%) -17.5
2015 DET AL 5 8 20 20 1 1 0 133.3 113 50 32 113 3.37 3.96 (+15%) 1602.4
2016 DET AL 16 9 34 34 2 0 0 227.7 171 77 57 254 3.04 4.19 (+27%) 4201.3
2017 DET AL 10 8 28 28 0 0 0 172.0 153 73 67 176 3.82 4.36 (+12%) 1280.3
2017 HOU AL 5 0 5 5 0 0 0 34.0 17 4 5 43 1.06 4.36 (+76%) 1430.2
2018 HOU AL 16 9 34 34 1 1 0 214.0 156 60 37 290 2.52 4.15 (+39%) 7634.0
2019 HOU AL 21 6 34 34 2 1 0 223.0 137 64 42 300 2.58 4.51 (+43%) 7213.6
2020 HOU AL 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 6.0 3 2 1 7 3.00 — 0.0
2022 HOU AL 18 4 28 28 0 0 0 175.0 116 34 29 185 1.75 3.97 (+56%) 6702.5
2023 NYN NL 6 5 16 16 0 0 0 94.3 77 33 31 81 3.15 4.33 (+27%) 1288.7
2023 HOU AL 7 3 11 11 0 0 0 68.0 62 25 14 63 3.31 4.33 (+24%) 715.2
2024 HOU AL 5 6 17 17 0 0 0 90.3 98 55 27 74 5.48 4.08 (-34%) -1620.9
2025 SFG NL 4 11 29 29 0 0 0 152.0 155 65 52 137 3.85 4.14 (+7%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
555 50 2 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 24 0.100 0.100 0.100 0.200 0.0

Career AVG .100 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 60.8% below league average.

Career OBP .100 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 69.0% below league average.

Career SLG .100 vs. league average .411 across their career seasons — 75.7% below league average.

Career OPS 0.200 vs. league average 0.733 across their career seasons — 72.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2005 DET AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2006 DET AL 30 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2007 DET AL 32 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2008 DET AL 33 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2009 DET AL 35 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2010 DET AL 33 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2011 DET AL 34 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2012 DET AL 33 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2013 DET AL 34 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2014 DET AL 32 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333 — — — — 0.0
2015 DET AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2016 DET AL 34 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.200 — — — — 0.0
2017 DET AL 28 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0.167 — — — — 0.0
2017 HOU AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2018 HOU AL 34 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.200 — — — — 0.0
2019 HOU AL 34 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2020 HOU AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2022 HOU AL 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2023 NYN NL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2023 HOU AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2024 HOU AL 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2025 SFG NL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
37 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2023 ALCS HOU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2023 ALDS2 HOU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2022 ALCS HOU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2022 ALDS2 HOU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2022 WS HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2019 ALCS HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2019 ALDS1 HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2019 WS HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2018 ALCS HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2018 ALDS2 HOU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2017 ALCS HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2017 ALDS2 HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2017 WS HOU 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000
2014 ALDS2 DET 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 ALCS DET 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 ALDS2 DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2012 ALCS DET 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2012 ALDS2 DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2012 WS DET 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2011 ALCS DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2011 ALDS1 DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2006 ALCS DET 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2006 ALDS1 DET 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2006 WS DET 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
17 12 37 36 0 220.3 173 86 73 241 3.51

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2023 ALCS HOU 0 1 1 1 0 6.7 6 2 2 5 2.70
2023 ALDS2 HOU 1 0 1 1 0 6.0 4 0 3 6 0.00
2022 ALCS HOU 1 0 1 1 0 6.0 3 1 1 11 1.50
2022 ALDS2 HOU 0 0 1 1 0 4.0 10 6 1 3 13.50
2022 WS HOU 1 0 2 2 0 10.0 10 6 6 11 5.40
2019 ALCS HOU 0 1 2 2 0 13.7 10 6 2 16 3.95
2019 ALDS1 HOU 1 1 2 2 0 10.7 8 4 6 13 3.38
2019 WS HOU 0 2 2 2 0 11.0 12 7 6 9 5.73
2018 ALCS HOU 1 1 2 2 0 12.0 9 6 6 10 4.50
2018 ALDS2 HOU 1 0 1 1 0 5.3 2 2 2 7 3.38
2017 ALCS HOU 2 0 2 2 0 16.0 10 1 2 21 0.56
2017 ALDS2 HOU 2 0 2 1 0 8.7 7 3 4 3 3.12
2017 WS HOU 0 1 2 2 0 12.0 5 5 2 14 3.75
2014 ALDS2 DET 0 0 1 1 0 5.0 6 3 1 4 5.40
2013 ALCS DET 0 1 1 1 0 8.0 4 1 1 10 1.12
2013 ALDS2 DET 1 0 2 2 0 15.0 6 0 2 21 0.00
2012 ALCS DET 1 0 1 1 0 8.3 3 1 0 3 1.08
2012 ALDS2 DET 2 0 2 2 0 16.0 7 1 5 22 0.56
2012 WS DET 0 1 1 1 0 4.0 6 5 1 4 11.25
2011 ALCS DET 1 1 2 2 0 11.3 13 7 5 13 5.56
2011 ALDS1 DET 1 0 2 2 0 9.0 6 5 5 12 5.00
2006 ALCS DET 1 0 1 1 0 5.3 7 4 1 6 6.75
2006 ALDS1 DET 0 0 1 1 0 5.3 7 3 4 5 5.06
2006 WS DET 0 2 2 2 0 11.0 12 7 5 12 5.73

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 555 555 214 325 35 31

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2005 DET P 2 2 2 2 1 0
2006 DET P 30 30 11 24 3 4
2007 DET P 32 32 7 17 0 0
2008 DET P 33 33 7 24 2 1
2009 DET P 35 35 14 20 2 4
2010 DET P 33 33 15 34 2 3
2011 DET P 34 34 12 33 5 2
2012 DET P 33 33 25 24 4 3
2013 DET P 34 34 19 17 2 5
2014 DET P 32 32 10 23 6 2
2015 DET P 20 20 8 6 3 1
2016 DET P 34 34 7 29 1 2
2017 DET P 28 28 8 13 1 0
2017 HOU P 5 5 2 0 0 1
2018 HOU P 34 34 7 12 1 0
2019 HOU P 34 34 17 10 0 0
2020 HOU P 1 1 2 1 0 0
2022 HOU P 28 28 4 15 1 2
2023 NYN P 16 16 13 5 0 1
2023 HOU P 11 11 11 1 0 0
2024 HOU P 17 17 4 5 0 0
2025 SFN P 29 29 9 10 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 555

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2023 Player of the Week Week of 2023-09-30
2022 All-MLB Team - First Team SP
2022 Comeback Player of the Year
2022 Cy Young Award
2022 MLB Players Choice Comeback Player
2022 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2022 TSN All-Star SP
2022 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
2022 TSN Pitcher of the Year
2019 All-MLB Team - First Team SP
2019 Cy Young Award
2019 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2019 Player of the Week Week of 2019-08-31
2018 Pitcher of the Month May
2018 Player of the Week Week of 2018-04-14
2018 Player of the Week Week of 2018-09-15
2017 ALCS MVP
2017 Babe Ruth Award
2017 This Year in Baseball Best Major Leaguer - Postseason Esurance
2016 Pitcher of the Month July
2013 Bob Feller Act of Valor Award - MLB Player
2012 Pitcher of the Month September
2012 Player of the Week Week of 2012-09-28
2012 TSN Pitcher of the Year
2011 Cy Young Award
2011 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2011 MLB Players Choice Player of the Year
2011 Most Valuable Player
2011 Pitcher of the Month June
2011 Pitching Triple Crown
2011 Player of the Week Week of 2011-05-08
2011 Player of the Week Week of 2011-06-19
2011 Player of the Week Week of 2011-09-18
2011 This Year in Baseball Starter of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2011 TSN Major League Player of the Year
2011 TSN Pitcher of the Year
2009 Pitcher of the Month May
2007 Player of the Week Week of 2007-06-16
2006 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie
2006 Player of the Week Week of 2006-05-27
2006 Rookie of the Month May
2006 Rookie of the Year
2006 TSN Rookie of the Year

Featured In Rankings

#14
Top 25 Starting Pitchers in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 14 of 25
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Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2016 DET AL $28,000,000
2015 DET AL $28,000,000
2014 DET AL $20,000,000
2013 DET AL $20,100,000
2012 DET AL $20,100,000
2011 DET AL $12,850,000
2010 DET AL $6,850,000
2009 DET AL $3,675,000
2008 DET AL $1,130,000
2007 DET AL $1,030,000
2006 DET AL $980,000
Total Career Earnings $142,715,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Old Dominion University Norfolk VA 2002, 2003, 2004

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2022 Cy Young Award AL 1st 210.0 210 30
2022 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 44.0 420 0
2019 Cy Young Award AL 1st 171.0 210 17
2019 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 56.0 420 0
2018 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 154.0 210 13
2018 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 26.0 420 0
2017 Cy Young Award AL 5th 32.0 210 0
2016 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 132.0 210 14
2016 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 2.0 420 0
2012 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 149.0 196 13
2012 Most Valuable Player AL 8th 58.0 392 0
2011 Cy Young Award AL 1st 196.0 196 28
2011 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 280.0 392 13
2010 Cy Young Award AL 11th 1.0 196 0
2009 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 14.0 140 1
2009 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 7.0 392 0
2007 Cy Young Award AL 5th 1.0 140 0
2006 Cy Young Award AL 7th 2.0 140 0
2006 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 7.0 392 0
2006 Rookie of the Year AL 1st 133.0 140 26