Justin Verlander was happy to see the Detroit Tigers complete a combined no-hitter on Saturday, but the accomplishment also has him worried for one particular reason.
Three Tigers pitchers — Matt Manning, Jason Foley, and Alex Lange — combined to no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays in a 2-0 win on Saturday. Verlander, who threw two no-hitters with the Tigers and has long had a reputation as a workhorse, thinks the uptick in combined no-hitters is a symptom of baseball failing to develop young starting pitchers.
“I hope that Major League Baseball doesn’t wait too long to address that because you get what you asked for, right?” Verlander told Scott Miller of the New York Times. “Teams are looking for players who throw 100 miles an hour and have one really good off-speed pitch. So instead of developing good pitching, as a younger player you’re obsessing over throwing the ball hard and spinning it. So you break instead of waiting for yourself to naturally develop. So you get what you ask for.”
Verlander added that he is concerned that a lack of workhorse starting pitchers could lead to fewer stars at the position.
“I hope we don’t look up years from now and see an entire league of just guys who nobody knows their names,” Verlander added.
Verlander himself knows about combined no-hitters, as his Houston Astros did it in the World Series last year. He is right, however, that they just aren’t as prestigious as when one pitcher does the trick themselves.
Starters pitch fewer innings than they used to, but there are still plenty of injuries, so it’s fair to say Verlander has a point here.
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