Justin Verlander
Verlander capped his remarkable career at 43 by delivering one final masterpiece in 2022, posting a microscopic 1.75 ERA that defied Father Time and every projection model in baseball. That performance, worth an ERA+ of 226, ranks among the greatest seasons by any pitcher past 39 and secured his third Cy Young Award two decades after his first.
The longevity numbers tell an almost impossible story. Over 21 seasons, Verlander struck out 3,553 batters across 3,568 innings while maintaining a 128 ERA+, meaning he was 28 percent better than league average for more than two decades. His 266 wins feel quaint in the modern game, but they underscore his durability in an era when ace pitchers rarely see 200 career victories.
What separates Verlander from his contemporaries isn't just the peak — though his 2011 MVP season was transcendent — it's the sustained excellence. Nine All-Star selections spanning three different decades don't happen by accident.
| Date | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | HR | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30 | 3.667 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | L |
Career · Hitting
13 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | — | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2007 | — | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2008 | — | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2009 | — | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2010 | — | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2011 | — | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2012 | — | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2013 | — | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2014 | — | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | — | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | — | 28 | 6 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 2018 | — | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2019 | — | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 426 | 50 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
25 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | — | 2 | 11.1 | 0 | 2 | 7.15 | — | 7 | 1.76 |
| 2006 | — | 30 | 186.0 | 17 | 9 | 3.63 | — | 124 | 1.33 |
| 2007 | — | 32 | 201.2 | 18 | 6 | 3.66 | — | 183 | 1.23 |
| 2008 | — | 33 | 201.0 | 11 | 17 | 4.84 | — | 163 | 1.40 |
| 2009 | — | 35 | 240.0 | 19 | 9 | 3.45 | — | 269 | 1.18 |
| 2010 | — | 33 | 224.1 | 18 | 9 | 3.37 | — | 219 | 1.16 |
| 2011 | — | 34 | 251.0 | 24 | 5 | 2.40 | — | 250 | 0.92 |
| 2012 | — | 33 | 238.1 | 17 | 8 | 2.64 | — | 239 | 1.06 |
| 2013 | — | 34 | 218.1 | 13 | 12 | 3.46 | — | 217 | 1.31 |
| 2014 | — | 32 | 206.0 | 15 | 12 | 4.54 | — | 159 | 1.40 |
| 2015 | — | 20 | 133.1 | 5 | 8 | 3.38 | — | 113 | 1.09 |
| 2016 | — | 34 | 227.2 | 16 | 9 | 3.04 | — | 254 | 1.00 |
| 2017 | — | 28 | 172.0 | 10 | 8 | 3.82 | — | 176 | 1.28 |
| 2017 | — | 5 | 34.0 | 5 | 0 | 1.06 | — | 43 | 0.65 |
| 2017 | — | 33 | 206.0 | 15 | 8 | 3.36 | — | 219 | 1.17 |
| 2018 | — | 34 | 214.0 | 16 | 9 | 2.52 | — | 290 | 0.90 |
| 2019 | — | 34 | 223.0 | 21 | 6 | 2.58 | — | 300 | 0.80 |
| 2020 | — | 1 | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | — | 7 | 0.67 |
| 2022 | — | 28 | 175.0 | 18 | 4 | 1.75 | — | 185 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | — | 16 | 94.1 | 6 | 5 | 3.15 | — | 81 | 1.14 |
| 2023 | — | 11 | 68.0 | 7 | 3 | 3.31 | — | 63 | 1.12 |
| 2023 | — | 27 | 162.1 | 13 | 8 | 3.22 | — | 144 | 1.13 |
| 2024 | — | 17 | 90.1 | 5 | 6 | 5.48 | — | 74 | 1.38 |
| 2025 | — | 29 | 152.0 | 4 | 11 | 3.85 | — | 137 | 1.36 |
| 2026 | — | 1 | 3.2 | 0 | 1 | 12.27 | — | 1 | 2.18 |
| Career | 616 | 3936.4 | 294 | 175 | — | — | 3917 | — | |
Each pitch type this pitcher throws regularly, placed by how the ball moves — sideways break across, rise or drop down the side. Each dotted ring holds about the middle 85% of the league’s pitches of that type, so a cluster sitting outside its ring is movement most pitchers don’t have.
The dots — a sample of this pitcher’s regular-season pitches, placed by movement: left–right is horizontal break, up–down is induced vertical break (what the pitch does beyond gravity). The view is handedness-neutral — positive break is toward the pitcher’s arm side for lefties and righties alike, so every sinker runs right and every sweeper breaks left, whoever throws it.
The dotted rings — about the middle 85% of where each pitch type lands league-wide (a 2-standard-deviation spread), measured from 7.5 million regular-season pitches since 2015. A cluster sitting well outside its ring is movement most of the league doesn’t get. Spring training and the postseason are excluded.
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.