PHOENIX — Two decades later, Vance Wilson still remembers the poster.
Inside the visiting clubhouse at the ballpark formerly known as Jacobs Field hung a Reebok-branded poster of two-time MVP Juan Gonzalez. As Wilson recalls, Gonzalez was hitting a neck-high fastball. Ahead of his debut, a 22-year-old Justin Verlander looked at the poster and cracked a tongue-in-cheek joke.
“Yeah, not my fastball.”
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Wilson, the former Detroit Tigers catcher said. “It’s one of those, ‘All right kid, let’s see what you got.’ ”
“I’ll defer to his memory,” Verlander laughed.
On July 4, 2005, Verlander took the mound in Cleveland for his first game in the majors, a spot start in the second game of a doubleheader. He didn’t didn’t pitch that well by his lofty standards, and he knew he’d be back in Double-A regardless of how the outing unfolded. But that night in Cleveland kicked off a career that will end in Cooperstown.
On July 4, 2025, a 42-year-old Verlander will take the mound for his 540th career regular-season start. Instead of looking for his first career win, he’ll be searching for his first victory as a San Francisco Giant in his continued pursuit of 300 career wins.
“The game has a funny way of putting things in perspective for you sometimes,” Verlander said. “I feel like I’m just a horse with blinders on, just kind of going about my business. Your head’s down, you get ready to pitch and get ready to pitch and just keep doing what you need to do to be successful. Every now and then, something kind of shakes you and you’re like, ‘Wow, I’ve been doing this a long time.’
“3,000 strikeouts or 200 wins or things like that just kind of make you realize how much time has elapsed. This is another one where it’s like, ‘dude, twenty years.’ It’s just crazy to think how long that actually is, especially in pro sports, but also how short it feels. It feels like nothing. Just feels like it’s gone so fast. I appreciate those moments because I do like to come up for a breath of air and look back, especially with my family now and trying to be a bit more present.”
The Tigers selected Verlander with the second overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft out of Old Dominion, and upon making his professional debut the following year, he only needed a handful of starts to affirm he was the game’s best young arm.
In his first 15 starts with High-A Lakeland and Double-A Erie, Verlander had a 10-2 with 1.43 ERA with 122 strikeouts over 101 innings. Baseball America tabbed him as its No. 1 prospect.
His 16th professional start would be in the majors.
Detroit and Cleveland had to play an Independence Day doubleheader to make up for an April rainout, but the Tigers didn’t have an available starter in their rotation to pitch the second game. Shortly after Verlander was promoted to Double-A, he received a call that he’d be making the start.
“There was the makeup and the confidence of what a No. 1 is,” Wilson said. “I think even from that comment Justin made about that poster, he’s always had that. You come across guys with that kind of stuff, but they just don’t have the makeup and that ‘it’ factor of what it takes to be a No. 1.”
The debut of top pitching prospects have become marquee events, most recently evidenced by the fervor around Paul Skenes’ first start last May. Verlander didn’t receive the same pomp and circumstance.
Verlander not only started the backend of a doubleheader, but he knew it would be a one-and-done situation. Regardless of how well Verlander pitched, he was going back to the minors. The game wasn’t even televised in Detroit.
The rookie’s first assignment was Cleveland, which went on to win 93 games and featured one of baseball’s best offenses — an offense that finished third in slugging percentage and fourth in homers. That day, Cleveland’s lineup featured Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Coco Crisp and Jhonny Peralta.
“They were really difficult to navigate,” Verlander recalled. “It was different for me back then. I didn’t prep; I just went out there and threw. We talked a little bit about the scouting report but it’s nothing like it is now. You just go out there and throw your best stuff, put your hat up there and compete and see what happens.”
Verlander didn’t watch the first game of the doubleheader at the ballpark, instead walking around a nearby mall and seeing a movie with his family to pass the time. He tried to keep his mind off the start. That task was impossible.
“Look, it’s your first start ever,” Verlander said. “That energy, that anxiousness isn’t going away. I still feel it for every start — not the same level, though.”
Those nerves manifested in his first inning. Verlander retired two of the first three batters, getting Sizemore to pop out and beating Hafner with an elevated heater for the first strikeout of his career. From there, things spiraled.
Crisp singled with one out and stole second, then scored on a double by Martinez. Ben Broussard doubled home Martinez; Peralta scored Broussard with a single. Verlander threw a wild pitch, then walked Jody Gerut and José Hernández before getting Alex Cora to hit an inning-ending ground out.
The shaky start didn’t deter the rookie. Verlander didn’t allow a single run over the next four innings, looking the part of baseball’s top prospect. In the fourth and fifth, he retired the side.
Verlander went out for the sixth but didn’t complete the frame. He began the inning with a single and a walk, and after inducing a fly out, his day was done. Reliever Jamie Walker allowed one of those inherited runners to score on a double by Sizemore.
Verlander’s final line was far below by his Hall of Fame standards — 5 1/3 innings, seven hits, four runs, three walks, four strikeouts — and he took the loss as Detroit fell to Cleveland, 6-0. But there was another number that jumped out: eight four-seam fastballs of at least 99 mph.
“I do think this guy is the real deal,” said manager Alan Trammell at the time. “I liked what I saw.”
In the 20 years following that night, Verlander has put together a career that will end with a plaque in Cooperstown. His résumé features an MVP, a Rookie of the Year, two World Series titles, three Cy Young Awards, nine All-Star appearances and 262 wins — and counting.
For Wilson, it remains a night he’ll never forget.
“My career highlights aren’t things like I hit 30 home runs or I made an All-Star team,” he said. “They’re things like I got to catch Tom Glavine in his first start back in Atlanta. I got to catch Justin Verlander’s major league debut. What makes it more impressive is Justin has always treated me with the utmost respect.”
Wilson caught the first three starts of Verlander’s career. Verlander’s second was another spot start in July, one where he allowed five runs over six innings. But on April 8, 2006 against the Texas Rangers, Verlander turned in his first of many gems: seven innings, no runs, seven strikeouts.
Two decades later, Wilson still remembers when Verlander tried to shake him off.
The Rangers’ leadoff man that day was Brad Wilkerson. Wilson knew Wilkerson struggled with velocity but mashed curveballs. When Verlander got Wilkerson into a two-strike count, Wilson signaled for a fastball. Verlander shook; he wanted to throw the curve.
Verlander eventually relented and struck out Wilkerson with a fastball. Upon returning to the dugout, Verlander asked Wilson why he didn’t want to call a curveball. Wilson provided his explanation; Verlander responded with his own.
“He doesn’t hit my curveball.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 20 years after debut, SF Giants’ Verlander reflects on first career start )
Also on site :
- Beloved brand ends controversial 50 cent fee on popular breakfast staple as it gets ahead of Waffle House
- Russia’s international reserves hit all-time high – central bank
- Rihanna and ASAP Rocky's Son RZA, 3, Studies French on Family Road Trip