Written by Anthony Fenech at Detroit Free Press.com
There was a moment, however fleeting, that Justin Verlander wants to share with you.
It came after the top of the seventh inning on Monday night, after the 119th pitch of his night, a 98 m.p.h. fastball, was caught in centerfield. It was in the back of his mind – has been for quite some time now – and it came to the forefront as he walked off the mound to a standing ovation at Comerica Park.
It’s the narrative reporters write about and the feelings fans care about but something the Detroit Tigers’ veteran ace can’t think too much about – he has a job to do, after all.
But after a stellar seven-inning performance against the Royals, evasive as always about the trade rumors that continue to circle around his name and equally sensitive about the situation at hand, Verlander wants you to know that he heard that ovation. He felt it. And although he couldn’t acknowledge it – he’s simply too superstitious to tempt the baseball gods – he wondered the same thing you did.
He wondered if that was the final ovation he would get from a fan base that watched a kid from Goochland, Va., grow into a future Hall of Fame pitcher right before their very eyes.
“You never know what could happen,” he said. “So it’s back there and there is a moment walking off the mound where you just take a second to appreciate it. And I know I didn’t acknowledge it when I was walking off the mound, probably because we’re in the middle of a tie game and you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Maybe, Verlander said, he wished he could have gone back and said, ‘Thank you.’
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