Verlander reminds why this era special
A.J. Hinch — manager of the Astros, skipper who writes the daily lineups and watches it all play out from the left edge of the dugout — tries to remind himself just how special this is. That it won’t last forever. That if it ever happens again, it won’t start with the franchise’s first World Series title after a city-altering hurricane, then be followed by a franchise-record 103 wins and baseball’s best record through 50 games the following season.
And that Justin Verlander should one day be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which means he can’t always be the Astros’ every-fifth-day ace.
You found the nearest TV, radio or cellphone the moment you heard Verlander was smoothly firing through a no-hitter Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.
Hinch, who has managed 698 regular-season Astros games and already has a shining championship ring, was again reminded just how memorable this moment in time is for our sports city.
“We need to appreciate the era of Astros baseball that we’re in,” Hinch said Wednesday, before Gerrit Cole followed up Verlander against the Chicago White Sox back at Minute Maid. “I try to remind myself of that as well. And not just because of the World Series, but because of the years surrounding the World Series. This is a very elite group that’s nearly impossible to put together and yet keep together and build off of.”
Baseball changes so much with each passing year. Names, faces, call-ups, demotions, trends, strategies. How to properly evaluate major league talent and MLB history. When to bring up Yordan
Alvarez and when Carlos Gonzalez is maybe never the same.
For the local orange and blue, Verlander has evolved from a stunning last-minute addition to a September stud, then from a team leader yelling in the opponent’s dugout at Dodger Stadium to a 2018 American League Cy Young runner-up whom the Astros couldn’t give up.
Put simply, he has become a constant during this golden age of the Astros.
Incredible numbers: 29-10, 2.30 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 422 strikeouts in 3201⁄3 innings since he was acquired Aug. 31, 2017.
A beautiful, baseball-is-art Tuesday night inside our downtown ballpark: Eight innings, one hit, one run, one walk, 12 strikeouts on 101 pitches (74 strikes).
Verlander is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA this May. He ranks second in the AL in wins (eight) and ERA (2.24) this season. At 36, he’s making his publicly stated desire to pitch until midway through his 40s appear very practical. And the proud, highly competitive righthander nearly threw his third no-hitter Tuesday, which pairs with the fact Verlander has finished second in Cy Young voting three times.
Yet in some weird, very 2019 way, Verlander has become a little underrated. Until he almost keeps the White Sox hitless or you speak to the teammates who watch him up close in the quiet pre and postgame moments every day. They, more than anyone, actually know how great the 212-game winner has become.
“Man, I tell you what. It’s nice because every time J.V. takes the ball, it feels like the bullpen’s going to get a rest that night,” said Ryan Pressly, who has been dominant for the Astros in relief since game one of 162, when he helped finish what Verlander started. “The amount of time that he puts into his preparation, getting his body right, scouting hitters, watching film — it’s unbelievable, honestly.
“When I first got traded over here and watching him go through that routine, it’s quite impressive. It’s for real. And you can see why he’s had the success that he’s had in his career. And he deserves it, too, with how much work he puts into it.”
Game-day Verlander is a real thing. The media doesn’t speak with starters before they take the mound. You definitely don’t get in the way of Verlander, who often enters the clubhouse with headphones locked on and was so zeroed in Tuesday he apparently didn’t notice Nolan Ryan, his childhood baseball hero, nearby.
But the real prep work begins when the most recent start is done.
“His daily routine is just amazing to watch,” second-year reliever Josh James said. “I see why he’s been around so long and why he’s been so successful for so long. He’s not satisfied with just putting regular numbers up there every year. He wants to be a Hall of Famer; he wants to be the best. He goes about his business in a super professional (way). When he’s at the ballfield, he’s working.”
You work all day, click on the flatscreen, finally sit back and proudly watch Verlander go to work.
A man who is around the Astros ace hour after hour in stadiums across the country sees the same thing we all do. Verlander is special — really special. That near no-hitter was one more reminder.
“I’ve watched him and gotten to know him and the way he talks about pitching and the way he internalizes how he’s going to attack hitters,” Hinch said. “He’s a very unique pitcher. … He has a way to attack every style of hitter in the big leagues.”
Then the Astros manager went deeper.
A big city filled with huge stars. Verlander fitting right in ever since he arrived, simply by going to work.
“We’ve got to keep staying appreciative of the quality of athletes,” Hinch said. “If you look across the way, with what the Rockets have put together, albeit not a championship yet. The Texans are starting to build it: J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson. Houston sports is full of pretty good athletes. We’re going to look back when we’re old and gray and grumpy and wish that we would’ve enjoyed it more, even though we’re enjoying it now.”