Detroit Tigers: The Men and Moments that Made the Detroit Tigers by Tom Gage

Author:Tom Gage
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Triumph Books
Published: 2017-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Justin Verlander, who won the 2011 Cy Young and MVP Awards, throws in Game 3 of the ALDS of that same season. (USA TODAY Sports Images)

It was thought a third no-hitter might soon follow for Verlander, but even when it looked like he had no-hit stuff—and it often did—the years began to fly by without another. “There were games when the only hits off him were flukes,” Inge said. “I remember days [in 2011] when I thought if the other hitters are honest about it, they’ll admit there was no pitch they could have driven.”

That was the year in which it looked like Verlander was capable of throwing a no-hitter in any given game. Nine times he allowed fewer than four hits. But it was when he battled through tough times without complaint or self-pity in 2014–15 that his maturity began to be, and deserved to be, noticed—much to the prideful delight of his parents, Kathy and Richard.

To see their son handle good times and bad equally well was rewarding, and while they’ve enjoyed all of Justin’s accomplishments in their own well-grounded way, they have never lost sight of how it all began. In an interview for MomsTeam.com, Justin’s father, Richard, said, “I really wish parents could flip a switch that would take them to a time when their children are grown up and gone, so they could realize how great those early years were—and how special the days spent as a family are running back and forth to sporting events, cheering and traveling together, and loving one another. The future will come soon enough. Don’t get so caught up in tomorrow that you lose sight of today. As the father of a MLB superstar, I can tell you that my fondest memories of all are of the summer days with me and my boys on the Little League diamond.”

Success comes in many forms. Within families it can be measured by the depth of what they’ve shared and still hold dear. In that case Justin Verlander—son, brother, and star—whether you end up on Mount Rushmore or not, you’ve known success from the start.

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