It’s been 17 years since Mike Rojas saw the first professional pitch of Justin Verlander’s career. It’s one he hasn’t forgotten.
It’s the kind of pitch no one would forget. Both because of who the player was then — someone who looked like he could be great. And because of who the player is now — a guaranteed Hall of Famer.
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Rojas was the manager of the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the High-A affiliate for Detroit.
The pitch, as Rojas described it over the phone this week, “exploded.” The heater itself might have been in the mid-90s. But it was the ease with which he threw it. The demeanor that accompanied it. He was the best pitcher in that league and that’s why he didn’t stay in it that long.
“It’s the ‘f— you attitude,’” Rojas said. “‘I’m Justin Verlander.’ And that’s what I loved about him. That’s what you want to see out of a No. 1.
“It’s where, ‘I’m the best on the field.’ That’s the attitude. And he had that when he walked in through the door.”
It would take only a couple of months for him to make his major-league debut, on July 4, 2005. And save for a few rehab stints, he hasn’t looked back.
On this date in 2005, Justin Verlander made his Double-A debut at New Hampshire. He allowed one hit and struck out 11 batters over seven innings in a 12-0 win. pic.twitter.com/UgKQDvPy9b
— Eerie SeaWolves 🎃🐺 (@erie_seawolves) June 22, 2020
Verlander will start Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night for the Astros, who are playing the Phillies. He’s almost certainly going to win his third Cy Young Award this year, all after missing the last two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.
But long before all this, Verlander was a 22-year-old No. 2 pick out of Old Dominion. His minor-league days were brief, but they’re easy to remember for those who saw them live.
“I was a high-risk, high-reward draft pick coming out of Old Dominion,” Verlander said on Thursday. “And they took a flier on me with the second pick. And I really appreciate them allowing me to be myself, one. And to bring me up so quickly.”
The “they” in that comment refers to Dave Dombrowski. He was the Tigers’ general manager then, but now has the same role with Verlander’s postseason opposition — the Phillies.
Dombrowski’s pick turned out to be prescient, as Verlander went on to be one of the most decorated pitchers in the game’s history. It didn’t take those around him long to realize that all of this was possible.
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Mike Rabelo and Don Kelly are current coaches on the Pittsburgh Pirates staff. They were both teammates with Verlander on the 2005 Erie SeaWolves. Rabelo, reached by phone this week, said that just a few months ago he and Kelly reminisced about Verlander’s first start for the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate.
“It was pure domination,” Rabelo said. “Everybody was watching the radar gun. Nobody had seen the stuff that he was doing. It was a joke. It was an absolute joke.”
The funny thing is, most minor-league rookies are just trying to prove themselves. It’s rare for someone to act like they’re The Man. Because, well, no one is The Man in Double A. If they were, maybe they’d be in Triple A or the majors.
But those who knew Verlander knew that he knew he was great. It was a confidence that those around him sensed.
“Now that I’m coaching, and especially at the major-league level — Justin Verlander’s mindset and the way he just goes about his business, I wish I could just bottle it up and give it to all of our guys,” Rabelo said.
Verlander made 13 starts in High A to the tune of a 1.67 ERA. He made seven starts in Double A with an 0.28 ERA. He recorded 136 strikeouts in 118 2/3 minor-league innings with just 26 walks. Two of his starts were complete games, something that might get a minor-league manager arrested for doing to a top prospect nowadays. Verlander made a couple of not-so-great starts for the Tigers that July.
Kody Kirkland lived with Verlander for a little bit one spring training and was his teammate in Lakeland. Kirkland said Verlander offered up his place when he needed a spot during his first major-league spring training.
Kirkland said Verlander had a stature and a presence about him. The pitcher could be a little goofy and had a laugh when Kirkland knocked a single in his one and only intrasquad at-bat against him.
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“I actually saw him in a bullpen before I ever saw him in a game,” Kirkland said. “I was behind him. Just the movement, the liveliness of his ball and the consistency that he had. He’s always had the ability to throw really hard. He made it look very easy. You’ll watch guys hit 100 and you can tell with how they throw. He was very effortless.”
Kirkland said he had a conversation with Joey Votto, who was in the minor leagues that same year. Votto faced off against Verlander in that season’s Florida State League All-Star game. And later that fall, Votto told Kirkland that Verlander was the hardest pitcher he’d ever faced.
Votto is something of an anomaly in the sense that he’s still playing, too. The rest of that Lakeland team? That Erie team? They’re retired. Most of them have been for quite a while. Typical 39-year-olds have moved on from playing.
But Verlander? He’s still the best of the best. He’s on the verge of being a highly courted free agent who will likely get a multi-year contract.
That’s always been his plan. Since the first day of Class A to Game 1 of the World Series.
“Look at now, how time flies,” said Brent Clevlen, a former Tigers top prospect who played alongside Verlander in the minors and for a brief time in the majors. “Doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was playing with him in Lakeland.
“Then here we are in 2022, and he’s still rolling out there and throwing like he’s a 21-year-old.”
(Top photo of Justin Verlander and Dave Dombrowski from 2004: Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
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