On the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, Justin Verlander was asked how important it was to him to be the one to take the ball on Opening Day.
His answer was simple.
"It's not," Verlander said. "It's a wonderful celebration of baseball, and I've cherished every time I've been able to do it, but I didn't come here to start Opening Day. That's not the reason I'm here."
Verlander, fresh off a World Series victory with the Astros, is much more concerned with being the last team standing than the first pitcher standing on the mound, so whether it's Max Scherzer or himself on the bump to start the season, it doesn't matter to Verlander.
What does matter is finishing what Scherzer and himself started early in their careers with the Tigers, where they were part of one of the best rotations in baseball, but were unable to get over the hump.
"We sat down for lunch yesterday and talked a little bit, and we've been working out a lot together," Verlander said. "I'm really looking forward to being here with him again. We're obviously in different situations in our lives, and I think we can both look back at our time in Detroit together, we had such a great team but were unable to achieve the ultimate goal. Hopefully, reunited here, we can achieve that."
Verlander is hardly the age he was when he and Scherzer were dominating in Detroit, as Verlander is now just five days from turning 40. But he doesn't see that number as any reason for slowing down.
"You've seen some guys in the history of our sport and other sports that were able to carry it well into their 40s, and I don't see why I can't," Verlander said. "Let's work harder than I ever have."
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