Tuesday night Tigers fans and baseball fans for that matter saw something very uncharacteristic of Justin Verlander and that was him being tagged for five runs in the first inning of the MLB All-Star Game. The American League would later go on to lose the game to the National League 8-0 and surrender home field advantage in the World Series.
After the game, Verlander attributed his performance to wanting to have fun and putting on a show for the fans.
“We’re here for the fans,” Verlander said. “I know the fans don’t want to see me hit 90 mph and hit the corners.”
“I know nobody wants to see me throw 90 mph,” Verlander said. “They like to see the 100 mph fastball. So, hey, I gave them that.”
Now I don’t believe Verlander wanted to go out there and give up five runs in the first inning and I do believe that he wanted the American League to win. Obviously though winning didn’t take precedent and because of this Verlander has gotten some criticism from fans and to an extent members of c
