Awards season has started for Justin Verlander.
The Astros’ ace earned recognition from his peers on Friday, capturing American League Comeback Player of the Year and Outstanding Pitcher honors in the Players Choice Awards.
Voting for the awards, sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, took place among players in late September. Verlander beat out Toronto Blue Jays righthander Alek Manoah and Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease for American League Outstanding Pitcher, an award he also won in 2019.
After a two-year absence due to Tommy John surgery, Verlander won the major league ERA title with a 1.75 mark across 28 regular-season starts. He led the sport with a 0.829 WHIP and won an American League-high 18 games.
On Thursday, Verlander secured his first World Series win in nine tries, grinding through five innings of one-run ball during Houston’s 3-2 win in Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park. The Astros have shown no plans to utilize him on short rest should the series extend to seven games, all but guaranteeing that six-strikeout performance as his final one in a fabulous season.
BRIAN T. SMITH: A fitting win for Justin Verlander
Verlander’s 1.75 ERA is the lowest by any American League starter in a 162-game season since Pedro Martinez’s 1.74 mark in 2000. Martinez captured the Cy Young Award that season. All indications are Verlander will follow suit this year.
Cy Young finalists will be revealed on Monday before the winner is announced on Nov. 16. Verlander is seeking the third Cy Young of his career and second as an Astro. Verlander won the award in 2019 and finished as runner-up to Blake Snell in 2018.
Verlander has finished top-five in Cy Young voting during each of the past four 162-game seasons he’s played. He tore his ulnar collateral ligament in July 2020 and missed the next 21 months while recovering.
Verlander is believed to be the 11th pitcher in history to have Tommy John surgery at 37 or older and return to pitch in the major leagues. Houston signed him to a one-year, $25 million deal in the winter and were hesitantly optimistic in their expectations. Verlander shattered them.
New York Yankees outfielder Matt Carpenter and Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout were the other finalists for Comeback Player of the Year, but Verlander’s magnificent return made the winner obvious.