Justin Verlander is on his way to an MVP season with the quickest 20 wins as a pitcher.
August 28, 2011- Detroit Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander increased his record to 20-5 by defeating the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. He became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to reach the 20 wins plateau this season.
On Saturday he allowed four runs giving up eight hits while striking out six and walking three in only six innings of work. He became the first pitcher in baseball since Curt Schilling in 2002, to reach 20 wins before the end of August.
Velander’s six innings pitched matched his season low. He became the first 20-game winner for the Detroit Tigers since 1991 when Bill Gullickson reached the plateau for the Tigers.
Verlander’s manager Jim Leyland has said he feels a pitcher, who plays only every three of four games, should not be eligible for the most valuable player award. Those comments raised comments from baseball writers since his ace pitcher is having what many call an MVP season.
He did try to clarify his comments prior to the game when he said he supported his pitcher in becoming the MVP. He said since baseball allows a pitcher to become MVP, by all means he was supporting his pitcher, but he still thinks a pitcher should not be an MVP.
