Verlander turns 42, would still like to reach 300 wins

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Three-time American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander turned 42 years old on Thursday, and is still hopeful of reaching 300 wins in his big league career. The right-hander is at 262 career wins, the most among active pitchers, while preparing for his 20th big league season, his first with the San Francisco Giants after an injury-plagued 2024 in Houston. Verlander threw batting practice for the first time this spring on Wednesday at the Giants camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. He threw throughout the offseason and feels healthy again after beginning last season on the injured list with shoulder inflammation and then later missing two months because of neck discomfort. In 17 starts for the Astros, he went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA — a single-season worst that was more than two runs higher than his 3.30 career ERA. "Look, I don't want to go out there and make a fool out of myself, you know," Verlander told USA Today after his BP session Wednesday. "But being able to pitch 20 years in this game and to be able to do something that makes me happy every day. Hey, as long as I still have that fire to play, and as long as I'm willing to put in the work that is required to go out there and compete, then I don't see why I wouldn't want to." When Verlander was introduced by the Giants last month after finalizing a $15 million, one-year contract, he called 2024 a "worst-case scenario." The nine-time All-Star said he never could get into a groove last season because of the injuries, and then pitched about as bad as he felt he could when he was on the mound. "Positives were, I was able to learn a lot. You can't play this game for very long if you don't learn from injuries," Verlander said then. Verlander will obviously have to pitch beyond 2025 for the opportunity to reach 300 wins. Only 24 big league pitchers have won at least 300 games. The last to accomplish that was five-time Cy Young winner Randy Johnson, who got his 300th win while pitching for the Giants in 2009. Johnson won 303 games over 22 seasons in the big leagues, and was 8-6 in his only season with San Francisco that ended his career when he was 46. There are only two other active pitchers with more than 200 wins: Max Scherzer at 216, and Clayton Kershaw at 212. Next on the list after them is Gerrit Cole with 153. After missing all of 2021 following Tommy John surgery, Verlander was 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA in 34 starts for the Astros in 2022 when they were World Series champions. He split 2023 between the New York Mets and Houston, going 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA in 27 starts combined after turning 40 that spring. His first Cy Young came with Detroit in 2011, when he was also the American League MVP after going 24-6 with a 3.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts over 34 starts. His other Cy Young came with Houston after going 21-6 in 2019, the only other time he was a 20-game winner. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb