30 Lesser Known Facts We Bet You Don’t Know About Justin Verlander

Justin Brooks Verlander, of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB), is a six-time All-Star and has led the American League (AL) in strikeouts four times. Here are some surprising facts about the American professional baseball player:

1. He was born Justin Brooks Verlander on February 20, 1983, in Goochland County, Virginia, to Kathy and Richard Verlander.
2. Verlander is Houston pitcher who throws four above average pitches, a hard four seam fastball, a slider or a cut fastball, curveball and circle changeup. He has fanned over 2,300 batters in his career.
3. He attended Goochland High School. He had been a top pitching prospect in high school with his velocity plateaued at 86 mph during his senior years.
4. He idolized Hall of Fame Nolan Ryan and his father who was the president of Communication Workers of America of the local Richmond chapter.
5. He started pitching at the youth level. He had the velocity but without any patience or control so much so that kids on the other teams sometimes refused to step into the batters box against him.
6. Verlander represented ‘Old Dominion University’ baseball for three years. He set his school single season record of 139 strikeouts, which he broke with his personal and a Colonial Athletic Association record with 151 strikeouts in 2004. He was named ODU Alumni Association’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2004.
7. He completed his collegiate career as the all-time high strikeout leader in Old Dominion, CAA and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s division-1, with 427 in 335 innings, averaging 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
8. He was named CAA Rookie of the Year in 2002 and earned All-CAA honors in 2003 and 2004. He represented United States in the 2003 Pan American Games, where he was the part of silver medal winning baseball team.
9. He signed a professional career with Detroit Tigers on October 25, 2004. He was selected second overall in the 2004 MLB Draft and represented the ‘Lakeland Flying Tigers’ and ‘Erie SeaWolves ‘ in the Detroit’s minor leagues.
10. Verlander made his major league debut on July 04, 2005 and made only two starts in the season. In 2006 season he went 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA, striking out 124 batters in 186 innings.
11. On July 04, 2006, at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, he along with Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney threw multiple fastballs over 100 mph, for the first time three pitchers have done on the same day in a game.
12. Verlander was named ‘Rookie of the Year 2006.’ He only allowed one stolen base and picked of seven base runners during the season. He is also the first rookie pitcher to record 10 wins before June.
13. On June 12, 2007, he ‘thrown a no-hitter’ against Milwaukee Brewers, striking out 12 and walking four. He also recorded a fastest ball of 102 mph in the game.
14. He had a successful 2007 season with 18 wins and posted a 3.66 ERA with 183 strikeouts in 201 innings.
15. On July 4, 2009, Verlander became the first Major League starter in 24 years to load the bases with nobody out in the ninth inning or later and get out of it without allowing a run.
16. He finished his 2009 season with 19-9 record, an ERA of 3.45 and led the MLB strikeouts with 269 the most since 1971. He also led all American League starters in the strike-outs with 10.1/9 IP.
17. In February 2010, Verlander signed a contract extension with Tigers for five years, worth $ 80 million. He received $ 500,000 as a signing bonus.
18. He finished the 2010 season with an 18-9 record and a 3.37 ERA, with 219 strikeouts in 224 innings. He is the first pitcher to win 17 games in four of his five seasons since Dwight Gooden.
19. In 2011 season he won the Triple Crown of Pitching in the American League, leading with 24 wins, 250 strikeouts and 2.40 ERA.
20. He was awarded the A.L Sporting News Pitcher of the Year 2011 and Sporting News Player of the Year Award. He also won a Players Choice Award for Player of the Year and Most Outstanding American League pitcher.
21. In 2012, American League Division Series, he recorded for the first time in MLB history with more than 10 strikeouts in a winner-take-all postseason shutout. He had 22 strikeouts in the series.
22. In March 2013, he signed his contract extension with Tigers for seven years and worth $ 180 million. The contract has vesting option $22 million for 2020, if he finishes in top five of in Cy Young Award voting in 2019. He was the highest paid pitcher in MLB history.
23. Verlander set a Major League record for a pitcher versus one team, when he threw 30 consecutive scoreless innings in the post season against Athletics. He surpassed Christy Mathewson’s 28 scoreless innings against Philadelphia Athletics from 1905-11.
24. In 2015 he missed the opening day start due to right triceps strain, ending his seven consecutive starts. This is the first time he is placed in the disabled list in his career following 298 career starts and 1978 innings pitched.
25. At the end of 2016 season he recorded 254 strikeouts to join Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens as the only three American League pitchers in history to strike out 250 or more batters in a season after turning 33 years old.
26. Verlander was the finalist for the American League Cy Young Award, along with Corey Kluber and Rick Porcello. He finished second losing by five points to Porcello, in what was second closest vote in history.
27. On August 31, 2017, minutes before the waiver trade deadline, Verlander was traded to the Houston Astros in exchange for Franklin Perez, Jake Rogers and Daz Cameron.
28. In 2016, he started a charitable works with ‘Wins For Warriors Foundation’ for veterans of the United States military. He has also supported local Detroit charities and Red Cross.
29. In 2016, he was engaged to 23 year old Kate Upton, after a courtship of three years. In 2014, ‘iCloud Leaks of celebrity photos’ leaked their very personal photos.
30. He bought a new $ 5.5 million house in Beverly Hills, which has five bedrooms and six baths, a tennis court, pool, hot tub, koi ponds and more.
31. Justin Verlander Net Worth: $80 Million