Throughout their more than six decades in existence, the Houston Astros have seen more than their fair share of great, Hall of Fame caliber players walk through the doors of the Astrodome and Daikin Park (or Enron Field or Minute Maid Park, whatever name it was going by at the time). For a franchise with just two World Series titles, the Astros have had plenty of All Star caliber players, along with Hall of Famers that, at the very least, have “HOUSTON” on the back of their baseball card.
Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, as the only two career Astros from the beginning to make the Hall of Fame, will always hold their own tier as Astro legends. Jose Altuve, barring some soul crushing trade in future seasons, should join them in due time. However, among imported Astros with Hall of Fame resumes, there may be no bigger legend than Justin Verlander.
Of course, it was Verlander, coming over to Houston from Detroit at the now-defunct August 31 waiver trade deadline, that represented the finishing touches on the franchise’s first ever championship roster. He went 5-0 down the stretch that season, and won MVP honors in the ALCS. Verlander went on to do so much more, but that was the beginning.
While he is no longer an Astro, Verlander still has connective tissue to Houston and the Golden Area of Astros baseball, so when he announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season, it sparked a wave of nostalgia, even if Verlander is back in a Tigers uniform for his final hurrah. Here was Verlander’s announcement:
I have a few more thoughts on Verlander calling it a career at the age of 43 years old:
4. Verlander was the first validation of the Astros’ “Golden Era” chops
The aforementioned trade for Verlander was noteworthy for two reasons. First, it reportedly came down to literally seconds before the deadline, and the Astros ace at the time, Dallas Kuechel, was instrumental in selling Verlander on waiving his no trade clause. Second, the trade happened as the city was still buried under fathoms of storm water from Hurricane Harvey. In short, we needed it, for baseball reasons and morale reasons. Above all else, this was one of the biggest stars in the game saying he was ready to leave the organization he’d spent every minute of his pro career with to come here, to Houston. Verlander believed in the title dreams of a franchise that had never won a title before. His belief in the organization was a catalyst for seven straight ALCS appearances, four World Series appearances, and two titles.
3. Verlander went on to become the best pitcher in Astros’ history
Given that Verlander’s career as an Astro was repeatedly interrupted by injury (missed all but six innings of 2020 and 2021 with Tommy John surgery) or leaving for greener pastures (signed with Mets in 2023, before being traded back in July of that year), some Astros fans have a hard time reconciling Verlander being labeled “best Astros pitcher ever.” Here is my case — in his three fully healthy, complete seasons as an Astro (2018, 2019, 2022), Verlander won two Cy Youngs and was runner up in the other season. Of the 23 starting pitchers with more than 800 innings pitched in Astros history, Verlander is the only one with an ERA below 3.00 (as an Astro), and he has the lowest walks and hits per inning of the 23 players (again, as an Astro). Verlander’s career WHIP, as an Astros, is 0.91. The next closest is 1.14. His Astros career may be shorter than others, but none was more dominant.
2. That said, Verlander will go into the Hall of Fame as a Tiger
This is where the length of tenure may factor in more significantly, with Verlander throwing nearly triple the number of innings as a Detroit Tigers as he did as a Houston Astro. All of the actual stats like ERA and WHIP are significantly better in his shorter Astros term, not to mention the two Cy Young Awards (versus one with Detroit) and the two World Series rings (versus none with Detroit). Ultimately, the Hall itself decides which team’s ball cap is on the inductee’s plaque, so it’s not Verlander’s call, but it’s a fun debate. Do you favor the longer term, consistently great run with Detroit, or the shorter term, ungodly elite run with the Astros? I will say that Verlander was a likely Hall of Famer in his Tigers run, but the Astros’ run for Verlander Is what made him a FIRST BALLOT Hall of Famer.
- The door is closed on the 300 win club in our lifetime
Shaboozy has a song called “Last of my Kind,” which is an anthem touting how they’ll “never find another like [him].” I think the song applies to Verlander. While the 300 career win total used to be an achievable benchmark for elite starting pitchers, load management has essentially destroyed that barrier. Pitchers going every five or sometimes six days, pitchers not throwing more than 100 pitches in a start, these are things that have turned 20 wins seasons into 15 win seasons for the best of the best.
Verlander was on track to make a run at it after his 2019 Cy Young season, but then he missed two full seasons (other than six innings in 2020) in 2020 and 2021, and the race to 300 was short circuited. It hasn’t helped that since his second Cy Young season, Verlander has only won 22 games. If you want the true validation that JV is the last of his kind, know that, of pitchers under 35 years old, no one has even 115 career wins. Aaron Nola is the leader of this bunch with 112. Verlander had 173 wins at the same point in his career. Like I said, last of his kind.
