HOUSTON — When Justin Verlander takes the mound for Game 1 of the World Series Friday, he’ll become just the second pitcher in MLB history to start games in the Fall Classic in three different decades, joining Roger Clemens.
But it’s another all-time great right-hander that Verlander reminds Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski of.
And this isn’t a new take from Dombrowski, who drafted Verlander with the No. 2 overall pick for the Detroit Tigers in the 2004 MLB Draft.
“When he was young and wasn’t even in the big leagues,” Dombrowski recalled Thursday afternoon, “I remember our announcer with the Detroit Tigers asked me, he said ‘You read so much of this Verlander stuff, who does he remind you of?’
“And I said ‘I don’t really like to do this very much,’ but with him I said ‘He kind of reminds me of Nolan Ryan.’ And he said ‘Really?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, he’s that good.’ And Nolan Ryan pitched until he was 45 or whatever it is, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Justin pitched for a while yet.’
After missing nearly all of the last two seasons as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, Verlander went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA, 2.49 FIP and 6.1 WAR, per FanGraphs. In his age-39 season, Verlander made his ninth All-Star Game appearance and is likely to win the American League Cy Young Award for the third time in his illustrious career.
For Verlander — who also won the AL MVP in 2011 — it’s just a matter of when he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame. Dombrowski has now led the Marlins, Tigers, Red Sox and Phillies to World Series appearances, winning titles in Miami and Boston. He too is likely destined for Cooperstown.
But Verlander, who will turn 40 in February, has spoken of a desire to pitch until age 45. At this point, there’s no reason to believe he can’t. And Dombrowski, 66, still travels on every road trip with the Phillies and seems to have as much energy as anyone at the park. Both are closer to the end than the beginning of their respective careers, but you don’t get the sense that either will retire imminently.
About two hours after Dombrowski told the story of the rare case where comparing a young pitcher to Ryan doesn’t turn out to be ridiculous, Verlander spoke at World Series Media Day. As you can see above, Dombrowski even stopped by, smelling familiar, to greet the best draft pick of his career.
Verlander — who at this point will be remembered as much as an Astro as he will with the Tigers — had high praise for the impact that both Dombrowski and Jim Leyland have had on him.
“He means a lot, a lot,” Verlander said of Dombrowski. “Going back to him, Jim Leyland, a couple people that were integral in me getting my start in professional baseball. I was a high risk-high reward draft pick coming out of Old Dominion. And they took a flier on me with the second pick. And I really appreciate them allowing me to be myself, one. And to bring me up so quickly.
“I got my career started very young. I felt like it was a great marriage. We rewarded them with a Rookie of the Year and a trip to the World Series in my rookie year. Obviously I was not the sole reason for that, but had a big part in it. It was a hell of a lot of fun.
“So, yeah, I’m very fond of Dave, and I would be remiss if I don’t mention Jim again.”
As he mentioned, Verlander made his Major League Debut at the age of 22 in 2005, before winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2006. That season was a fairytale campaign for the Tigers, who won the AL Pennant just three years after going 43-119.
The Phillies haven’t climbed back from the depths that the Tigers did, but their run to the World Series is probably more shocking than the team Verlander and Dombrowski had major hands in during the 2006 season.
Perhaps this time around, a cinderella season for a team that Dombrowski helped to build will end with his team on a parade float. But it will have to come at the expense of Verlander, who is back in the World Series for the fifth time in his career.
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