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most by an AL Rookie of the Year pitcher since Mark “The Bird” Fidrych won 19 games back in 1976, also with the Tigers. During nearly 13 seasons in the Motor City, Verlander led Major League Baseball (MLB) in strikeouts and innings pitched three times and in wins twice. In 2011, he put up monster numbers rarely seen, going 24–5 with 250 strikeouts and a 2.40 earned run average to win the Cy Young Award. In fact, he was so good that he won the American League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award too, becoming only the 10th pitcher in MLB history to pull off that double. Amazing Astro After being dealt to Houston late in the 2017 season as part of the Tigers’ rebuilding efforts, all Verlander did upon his arrival was go 5–0 in the regular

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Justin Verlander