Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros won the 2019 Major League Baseball American League Cy Young Award. He was selected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America over his teammate Garrett Cole.

Verlander received 17 of the first place votes whereas Cole received 13 of those first place votes. Charlie Morton of the Tampa Bay Rays finished the race for the AL Cy Young Award in third place just one year after leaving the Houston Astros for Tampa Bay.

In my opinion, Cole deserved to win the American League Cy Young Award this season after his long stretch of not losing a game. He was pretty much unhittable throughout the 2019 MLB regular season.

Career Achievements, Awards, and Honors:

Verlander has now won his second Cy Young Award. The first came when he was in Detroit in 2011. In fact, that season he won the AL Cy Young Award to go along with his American League Most Valuable Player Award too. Verlander has already accomplished a Baseball Hall of Fame Career even though he is not done yet. Don Newcombe is the only other MLB player to win the Rookie of the Year Award, the Cy Young Award, and the Most Valuable Player Award throughout his illustrious career.

On top of all that, Verlander is an 8 time MLB All Star (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019). He is a World Series champion with the Houston Astros in 2017, and that year he was the MVP of the ALCS as well. He has led Major League Baseball in wins three times (2009, 2011, 2019). In 2011 he led the MLB in ERA.

Five times he has led the American League is strikeouts (2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018), and Verlander has thrown 3 no hitters (2007, 2011, 2019). He is also a member of the elusive 3,000 strikeout club. There is not much else a starting pitcher can do in his career, and he will be remembered as one of the greatest of all time.

Career Regular Season Statistics:

Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W
2005 22 DET AL 0 2 .000 7.15 2 2 0 0 0 0 11.1 15 9 9 1 5 0 7 1 0 1 54 61 4.52 1.765 11.9 0.8 4.0 5.6 1.40
2006 23 DET AL 17 9 .654 3.63 30 30 0 1 1 0 186.0 187 78 75 21 60 1 124 6 1 5 776 125 4.35 1.328 9.0 1.0 2.9 6.0 2.07
2007 24 DET AL 18 6 .750 3.66 32 32 0 1 1 0 201.2 181 88 82 20 67 3 183 19 2 17 866 125 3.99 1.230 8.1 0.9 3.0 8.2 2.73
2008 25 DET AL 11 17 .393 4.84 33 33 0 1 0 0 201.0 195 119 108 18 87 8 163 14 3 6 880 92 4.18 1.403 8.7 0.8 3.9 7.3 1.87
2009 26 DET AL 19 9 .679 3.45 35 35 0 3 1 0 240.0 219 99 92 20 63 5 269 6 4 8 982 131 2.80 1.175 8.2 0.8 2.4 10.1 4.27
2010 27 DET AL 18 9 .667 3.37 33 33 0 4 0 0 224.1 190 89 84 14 71 0 219 6 2 11 925 124 2.97 1.163 7.6 0.6 2.8 8.8 3.08
2011 28 DET AL 24 5 .828 2.40 34 34 0 4 2 0 251.0 174 73 67 24 57 0 250 3 2 7 969 172 2.99 0.920 6.2 0.9 2.0 9.0 4.39
2012 29 DET AL 17 8 .680 2.64 33 33 0 6 1 0 238.1 192 81 70 19 60 2 239 5 1 2 956 161 2.94 1.057 7.3 0.7 2.3 9.0 3.98
2013 30 DET AL 13 12 .520 3.46 34 34 0 0 0 0 218.1 212 94 84 19 75 1 217 4 1 3 925 120 3.28 1.315 8.7 0.8 3.1 8.9 2.89
2014 31 DET AL 15 12 .556 4.54 32 32 0 0 0 0 206.0 223 114 104 18 65 1 159 5 1 5 893 85 3.74 1.398 9.7 0.8 2.8 6.9 2.45
2015 32 DET AL 5 8 .385 3.38 20 20 0 1 1 0 133.1 113 56 50 13 32 1 113 3 0 2 535 118 3.49 1.088 7.6 0.9 2.2 7.6 3.53
2016 33 DET AL 16 9 .640 3.04 34 34 0 2 0 0 227.2 171 81 77 30 57 1 254 8 0 6 903 140 3.48 1.001 6.8 1.2 2.3 10.0 4.46
2017 34 TOT AL 15 8 .652 3.36 33 33 0 0 0 0 206.0 170 80 77 27 72 4 219 4 0 5 849 131 3.84 1.175 7.4 1.2 3.1 9.6 3.04
2017 34 DET AL 10 8 .556 3.82 28 28 0 0 0 0 172.0 153 76 73 23 67 4 176 3 0 5 729 117 4.07 1.279 8.0 1.2 3.5 9.2 2.63
2017 34 HOU AL 5 0 1.000 1.06 5 5 0 0 0 0 34.0 17 4 4 4 5 0 43 1 0 0 120 389 2.69 0.647 4.5 1.1 1.3 11.4 8.60
2018 35 HOU AL 16 9 .640 2.52 34 34 0 1 1 0 214.0 156 63 60 28 37 0 290 8 2 5 833 164 2.78 0.902 6.6 1.2 1.6 12.2 7.84
2019 36 HOU AL 21 6 .778 2.58 34 34 0 2 1 0 223.0 137 66 64 36 42 0 300 6 0 4 847 179 3.27 0.803 5.5 1.5 1.7 12.1 7.14
15 Y 15 Y 15 Y 15 Y 225 129 .636 3.33 453 453 0 26 9 0 2982.0 2535 1190 1103 308 850 27 3006 98 19 87 12193 129 3.41 1.135 7.7 0.9 2.6 9.1 3.54
162  162  162  162  17 10 .636 3.33 34 34 0 2 1 0 224  190 89 83 23 64 2 226 7 1 7 915 129 3.41 1.135 7.7 0.9 2.6 9.1 3.54
W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W
DET  DET  DET  DET  183 114 .616 3.49 380 380 0 23 7 0 2511.0 2225 1057 975 240 766 27 2373 83 17 78 10393 123 3.48 1.191 8.0 0.9 2.7 8.5 3.10
HOU  HOU  HOU  HOU  42 15 .737 2.45 73 73 0 3 2 0 471.0 310 133 128 68 84 0 633 15 2 9 1800 179 3.00 0.837 5.9 1.3 1.6 12.1 7.54

Career Playoff Statistics:

Year Age Tm Lg Series Rslt Opp W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W WPA
2006 23 DET AL ALDS W NYY 0 0 5.06 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.1 7 3 3 1 4 0 5 0 0 0 26 2.063 11.8 1.7 6.8 8.4 1.25 -0.08
2006 23 DET AL ALCS W OAK 1 0 1.000 6.75 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.1 7 4 4 2 1 0 6 0 1 1 24 1.500 11.8 3.4 1.7 10.1 6.00 -0.07
2006 23 DET AL WS L STL 0 2 .000 5.73 2 2 0 0 0 0 11.0 12 10 7 2 5 0 12 0 0 2 50 1.545 9.8 1.6 4.1 9.8 2.40 -0.35
2011 28 DET AL ALDS W NYY 1 0 1.000 5.00 2 2 0 0 0 0 9.0 6 5 5 0 5 0 12 1 0 1 38 1.222 6.0 0.0 5.0 12.0 2.40 -0.02
2011 28 DET AL ALCS L TEX 1 1 .500 5.56 2 2 0 0 0 0 11.1 13 7 7 2 5 0 13 0 0 1 53 1.588 10.3 1.6 4.0 10.3 2.60 -0.01
2012 29 DET AL ALDS W OAK 2 0 1.000 0.56 2 2 0 1 1 0 16.0 7 1 1 1 5 0 22 0 0 0 59 0.750 3.9 0.6 2.8 12.4 4.40 0.69
2012 29 DET AL ALCS W NYY 1 0 1.000 1.08 1 1 0 0 0 0 8.1 3 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 28 0.360 3.2 1.1 0.0 3.2 0.49
2012 29 DET AL WS L SFG 0 1 .000 11.25 1 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 6 5 5 2 1 0 4 0 0 0 19 1.750 13.5 4.5 2.3 9.0 4.00 -0.28
2013 30 DET AL ALDS W OAK 1 0 1.000 0.00 2 2 0 0 0 0 15.0 6 0 0 0 2 0 21 0 0 0 53 0.533 3.6 0.0 1.2 12.6 10.50 0.86
2013 30 DET AL ALCS L BOS 0 1 .000 1.13 1 1 0 0 0 0 8.0 4 1 1 1 1 0 10 0 0 1 29 0.625 4.5 1.1 1.1 11.3 10.00 0.27
2014 31 DET AL ALDS L BAL 0 0 5.40 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.0 6 3 3 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 22 1.400 10.8 1.8 1.8 7.2 4.00 -0.12
2017 34 HOU AL ALDS W BOS 2 0 1.000 3.12 2 1 0 0 0 0 8.2 7 3 3 1 4 0 3 0 0 0 34 1.269 7.3 1.0 4.2 3.1 0.75 -0.02
2017 MVP 34 HOU AL ALCS W NYY 2 0 1.000 0.56 2 2 0 1 0 0 16.0 10 1 1 0 2 0 21 1 0 0 59 0.750 5.6 0.0 1.1 11.8 10.50 0.92
2017 34 HOU AL WS W LAD 0 1 .000 3.75 2 2 0 0 0 0 12.0 5 5 5 2 2 0 14 1 0 0 43 0.583 3.8 1.5 1.5 10.5 7.00 -0.12
2018 35 HOU AL ALDS W CLE 1 0 1.000 3.38 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.1 2 2 2 0 2 0 7 0 0 0 20 0.750 3.4 0.0 3.4 11.8 3.50 0.19
2018 35 HOU AL ALCS L BOS 1 1 .500 4.50 2 2 0 0 0 0 12.0 9 6 6 2 6 0 10 0 0 2 51 1.250 6.8 1.5 4.5 7.5 1.67 0.00
2019 36 HOU AL ALDS W TBR 1 1 .500 3.38 2 2 0 0 0 0 10.2 8 4 4 2 6 0 13 0 0 0 44 1.313 6.8 1.7 5.1 11.0 2.17 0.16
2019 36 HOU AL ALCS W NYY 0 1 .000 3.95 2 2 0 0 0 0 13.2 10 6 6 3 2 0 16 0 0 0 52 0.878 6.6 2.0 1.3 10.5 8.00 -0.01
2019 36 HOU AL WS L WSN 0 2 .000 5.73 2 2 0 0 0 0 11.0 12 7 7 3 6 0 9 0 0 0 50 1.636 9.8 2.5 4.9 7.4 1.50 -0.09
8 Yrs (19 Series) 14 11 .560 3.40 31 30 0 2 1 0 187.2 140 74 71 26 60 0 205 3 1 8 754 1.066 6.7 1.2 2.9 9.8 3.42 2.41
Opp W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W WPA
8 ALDS 8 1 .889 2.52 13 12 0 1 1 0 75.0 49 21 21 6 29 0 87 1 0 1 296 1.040 5.9 0.7 3.5 10.4 3.00 1.65
7 ALCS 6 4 .600 3.13 11 11 0 1 0 0 74.2 56 26 26 11 17 0 79 1 1 5 296 0.978 6.8 1.3 2.0 9.5 4.65 1.59
4 WS 0 6 .000 5.68 7 7 0 0 0 0 38.0 35 27 24 9 14 0 39 1 0 2 162 1.289 8.3 2.1 3.3 9.2 2.79 -0.84

Media Statements:

“The adversity I went through puts a new perspective on everything,” Verlander explained. “I mean, still would’ve liked to have won a couple of them.”

“I will always try to push the boundaries of what I can do,” he added. “If my body says, ‘Hold on, you can’t do that anymore,’ then I’ll pull back.”

“I know that Gerrit had a great time playing here and I know he would like to return, if possible,” he continued. “But that is now on Gerrit and his family and people above me.”

“It would mean a lot to me. Not just because of my age, but having gone through being at the top of my game, to going down and being hurt, and having people count me out, to getting back to where I am now.

“It gives me some perspective. I am enjoying it more. Not just the age, but having gone through at being atop of my game to going down and being hurt, and having people count me out, to all of the hard work to getting back to where I am now.

“All of that does allow me to appreciate the success a little bit.’’

“A couple of those years hurt a lot,’’ Verlander exclaimed.

“I think wins are important,’’ Verlander replied. “You ask any starting pitcher. You go out there and pitch seven innings, give up three runs and lose, you don’t feel as good as you do when you give up three runs in seven innings and win. As much as people want to shy away from the wins and losses, it definitely means something to us.

“I started to amass a good number of them. It comes with being healthy, throwing 200 innings, being out there for your team, covering the extra innings your bullpens doesn’t have to. When you do that, that’s how you get those extra wins.

“That’s how you get 13 to 15 wins instead of 10. That’s how you get 17 to 20 wins instead of 13 to 15. Those extra innings, those matter.’’

“You can’t put a number on it because people can’t quantify how valuable it is,’’ Verlander stated. “Just saving the bullpen, the impact those extra innings have, and what that means.”

“I think WAR is a pretty fickle number for starting pitchers, but the WHIP, that’s our job, to limit baserunners,’’ says Verlander. “The batting average against is a nice stat, but if you’re walking three or four batters per nine innings, the way batters now count a hit as good as a walk for OPS, those walks might as well be hits.’’

“People can say whatever they want,’’ Verlander expressed, “but I’m just going to keep my head down and keep pitching. There’s a lot of work behind the scenes. I do a lot more work now than I ever did before. It’s not just in the gym sweating my ass off, it’s the maintenance, knowing my body, and always kind of adapting and changing.

“I don’t know if I can do it or not, but I’m sure the hell going to try.’’