Many fans have shown their support for Justin Verlander ever since the August 31st trade that sent the longtime Detroit Tigers ace and fan-favorite to the Houston Astros. Verlander certainly has noticed the love and he recently admitted as much to Lynn Henning of the Detroit News.
This is what the former Cy Young Award winner had to say about Tigers fans supporting him and his Astros teammates during last year’s World Series run.
“That was really cool,” he said Thursday, with a kind of sigh, almost as if the reality is still settling in. “I’ve still got my ear to the ground in Detroit, and to have had them embrace this (Astros) team because of me was amazing.
“You don’t see that a lot in sports. It’s something very unusual. But I didn’t want to leave a city in the fashion some athletes do.
“I wanted this city to know I cared. That was my history in Detroit. That was my legacy.”
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There have been so many bad break-ups between Detroit sports fans and former players. Whether it was players like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson retiring too soon, Ndamukong Suh leaving for more money, Sergei Fedorov leaving to sign with the Anaheim Ducks, or Prince Fielder after his comments after Game 6 of the 2013 ALCS.
It is nice to see that the relationship between Tigers fans and arguably the best pitcher in team history has not deteriorated. Verlander made it clear that he did not want to leave the Tigers, however, it is his desire to win that led to his decision.
“It’s what I worked hard for, it’s what I relished, that opportunity to win.”
Glad to see that Verlander has won his World Series ring. Now hopefully the Tigers can get their ring sooner rather than later.
BONUS CONTENT:
Section 313, Seat No. 19: Victor Martinez would do best to keep his mouth shut
Communication is a two-way street. One cannot deny this. It is especially important for a new Major League manager to make as many connections to his veteran players as soon as possible once hired. By all accounts, Ron Gardenhire has done a very good job of taking on his new role as the Detroit Tigers manager. However, perennial pain-in-the-ass Victor Martinez didn’t mince words when he was asked about his first contact with the team’s new skipper — contact that as of the first day of Spring Training, still hadn’t been made.
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https://detroitsportsnation.com/detroit-tigers-news/ajreilly/section-313-seat-no-19/02-2018/102337/
