SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. − Justin Verlander sat in the San Francisco Giants clubhouse, studying the lineup, watching video and asking questions about opposing hitters.
This was all before a meaningless spring training game last week against the Athletics.
“I thought I was prepared,’’ Giants ace Logan Webb said, “before watching him. He’s unreal’’
There’s a reason why Verlander is entering his 20th season, spanning 3,415 ⅔ innings, winning 262 games and striking out 3,416 hitters − first among all active pitchers.
“He’s everything you could possibly imagine in a pitcher,’’ Webb says. “You see why he’s been around for 20 years just seeing his attention to detail with everything he does. He has a brilliant baseball mind. I just love talking to him about pitching. Every day I’m picking his brain about something new.
“He’s been great for me, great for our young pitchers, and really just great for the entire team. He’s not scared of anybody and all of the guys have really bought into that.’’
Sure, it may be just spring training, and the records and stats will be washed away opening day, but the Giants believe it’s hardly a coincidence that they have the best record (18-6-3) in the Cactus League, dominating on the mound, permitting the fewest walks (61 in 238 innings) with the most strikeouts (259) in baseball. Their 1.14 WHIP is the best in the major leagues, and their 3.44 ERA ranks second.
“He’s really raised the expectations for the whole pitching staff,’’ Giants catcher Patrick Bailey says. “He sets the expectations and kind of brings everybody along. Look what we’re doing.’’
The front end of the starting rotation has been lethal. Webb, their opening-day starter, is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA, striking out 21 and walking two batters in 18 innings. Robbie Ray is 2-0 with a 0.96, striking out 25 batters with one walk in 18 ⅔ innings. And, then there is 42-year-old Verlander, 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA, striking out 19 batters with five walks in 19 innings.
“For me to get my first big league start when he was a Tiger, growing up watching him as a kid, and then to share a clubhouse with him, it’s exciting to come full circle,’’ said Ray, who broke into the big leagues in 2014 with the Tigers. “He’s a testament of what you can do if you take care of yourself, and you work hard, especially for these young guys trying to get their feet wet. You see a guy that already has had all of this success in the big leagues, and he’s still coming in on a daily basis working as hard as he can to be better.
“I mean, the work ethic he has is what this clubhouse needs. They need to see it. The guys need to see what it takes to pitch for 20 years.’’
Says pitcher Jordan Hicks: “It’s just so impressive seeing how he goes about his preparation, watching video, and studying it. “It’s only spring training, and you already see how in-depth he goes. So, I can’t wait to see how it is in the season.’’
Verlander has enjoyed spending the first spring training of his career in Arizona, laughing at teammates complaining about a 40-minute car ride, shrugging his shoulders at the dry air, but badly missing his family in Jupiter, Florida. Having little to do but sprinkle in some golf once workouts and games are over, he has spent quality time hanging out with his teammates in the clubhouse, talking shop, playing chess, and discussing life.
He already had made a major impact on the team, particularly the pitching staff, the Giants say, stressing the value of preparation, and letting the starters know that despite folks wanting to devalue the importance of wins, he’ll strongly beg to differ.
“There are times when you may end up either being lucky or unlucky with wins and losses,’’ Verlander tells USA TODAY Sports, “but you take a large sample size, and the best pitchers win more games. They go deeper in games. The deeper you go, the more opportunity there is to win more games.
“And you’re not just affecting your game, you’re affecting the games before your start and after your start.’’
These talks have been motivation for everyone on the staff, says Ray, 33, and anyone would be foolish not to listen.
“It’s nice for me having another guy here to bounce things off, just sitting back and watching each other,’’ Ray says. “He’s got a really good eye for reading hitters’ swings, what a guy is thinking. It’s just nice to pick his brain and see how he thinks through things.
“He’s done it for 20 years, he’s going to the Hall of Fame, so obviously he’s doing something right.’’
And yes, watching Verlander pursue 300 career victories, vying to become the 25th and perhaps the last pitcher to achieve the feat, has everyone on the staff dreaming about being a 20-game winner. He currently has 262 wins.
“Don’t let anyone fool you, wins are important for a starting pitcher,’’ Ray says. “Sure, wins are more of a team stat, but you don’t go out there trying to get a no-decision. It means you’re going deeper into the game and doing your job the way you’re supposed to do it.
“And, hey, most important, if you win, it means the team is winning, too.’’
Verlander plans to pitch until he’s 45, giving him three years to become the first 300-win pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2009 when he also was pitching for the Giants. The way he’s pitching this spring, why not? He’s averaging 94-mph on his fastball, hitting 96-mph, mixing in his curveballs and sliders, and feeling like he can dominate anyone on any given night.
He has two Cy Young awards and finished runner-up in the Cy voting in three of his last five seasons, and now feels as healthy as he has in years after battling neck and shoulder injuries the past two seasons, yielding a career-worst 5.48 ERA in 17 starts in 2024. When he steps on the mound for the first time for the Giants on March 29 in Cincinnati, he’ll be their oldest Giants’ pitcher to start a game since Johnson when he was 45.
He sees no reason why he still can’t return to being one of the game’s premier pitchers.
“I’m a pretty harsh critic of myself, and I look at the injuries I sustained last year and the year before as a learning tool,’’ Verlander said. “I don’t see them as something that was indicative that it was the end of my career, or my body can’t keep up anymore. I wouldn’t be here if that’s the way I viewed it.
“I view it more like my core surgery back in 2014, and people back then were saying that age is catching up to me. No, I just had something underlying in my body that I wasn’t aware of until it broke.
“I think this is similar. I revamped part of my body. My mechanics last year were so poor, but I think a lot of the mechanical adjustments I made in the offseason are having the intended results. There are still some things I think need to be cleaned up, but my body’s moving differently now. I’m moving freer and easier. Really, the way I’m moving right now, I have the ability to get my slider back to where I was in 2022, ideally, 2019.’’
That was the year Verlander went 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA, leading all of baseball with 300 strikeouts in a league-leading 223 innings, helping lead the Houston Astros to the World Series. Certainly, there’s no doubt he has built a Hall of Fame resume. He has finished among the top 5 in Cy Young voting nine times in his career, winning one MVP award and finishing in the top 10 four times. He’s a nine-time All-Star, also ranks first among all active pitchers in innings pitched (3,415), strikeouts (3,416), starts (526) and complete games (26).
“It blows me away what he’s done in his career,’’ Giants starter Kyle Harrison says. “It’s what we all want to be one day. He’s living proof that we could do it. We’re all trying to be like him one day.’’
It’s why Giants manager Bob Melvin calls Verlander the Pied Piper of the pitching staff, with everyone following him around, trying to be just like him.
“Yeah, but who’s going to be 42 years old and still throwing 96,’’ Giants pitcher Lou Trivino says, “besides Justin.’’
Well, maybe no one, but it doesn’t stop them from dreaming that perhaps one day too they could be chasing 300 victories.
“That’s something to strive for, but it’s not the reason why I’m playing,’’ Verlander said. “It’s not like, ‘God, I really want to hang them up, but I want 300 wins. I do want to accomplish that and I use it for motivation, but 45 has always been kind of the number that I think I can pitch until. So, we’ll see what happens after that.’’
“I still have that fire to play, and as long as that desire is still there, I don’t see why I should stop.’’
Just as he uttered in his introductory zoom press conference, Verlander says without any hesitation: “I wouldn’t be back if I didn’t think I could be great.’’
This time, he plans to bring the Giants along with him.
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