My Brutally Honest Thoughts About Justin Verlander

The first half of the 2026 Major League Baseball season will conclude on Sunday. According to multiple sources, Justin Verlander announced via his Instagram page that he'll be retiring at the end of the season. I would highlight his stats and other accolades, but since he has infuriated me so much over the years, out of respect, I decided that I wasn't going to give him any sort of props. I used to like him and thought he was one of the best pitchers that had ever played the game. However, nearly a decade after the Astros cheating scandal, I won't and will never acknowledge him as a World Series champion or Cy Young Award winner. Even if he were to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame years from now, I still wouldn't acknowledge him as a Baseball Hall of Famer either. Justin Verlander may not have been one of the masterminds behind the aforementioned scandal, but just like everyone who were part of the Astros between 2017 and 2022, all of the players are and still guilty by association. In other words, even though many players have since moved on to other teams, they'll still have the Cheater label attached to them forever. I refuse to acknowledge them as World Series champions or World Series MVPs. I don't care if the scandal happened almost 10 years ago. If a team engages in any sort of cheating for personal or professional gain, I automatically lose respect for them. The Astros should've had their title stripped; rings returned and pay back any bonuses they might have received. Also, they should've been ineligible for the Postseason the following year. Instead, the players received immunity from the league, which is basically a slap on the wrist. I have zero tolerance for cheaters, regardless of the sport. Justin Verlander was the same player who was so gung-ho about being an advocate for tougher punishments for players who used performance-enhancing drugs. Yet, he was part of a team who cheated the Los Angeles Dodgers of a World Series title back in 2017. I'm no fan of either team, but Verlander was full of hypocrisy and contradictions. I'm not going to give him a pass, just because he's retiring. None of the players who were with the Astros between 2017 and 2022 don't get a pass, either.

I didn't learn about the Astros cheating scandal in its entirety until much later, but as a Rangers fan, I took them cheating to win a World Series title that they didn't deserve to begin with very personally. Why? Even though these two teams are rivals, I was rooting for them (the Astros) to win their first World Series title. I never would've known that they would cheat their own fans out of an experience and unfairly won it all under false pretenses. Winning a championship that they didn't earn offended me and it was a slap in the face. I refuse to pretend that the scandal never happened and forget about it. Since then, players such as Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge had publicly called the Astros out. I'm still mad at the Astros and no, I still won't forgive them. I refuse to let it go, because cheating an unforgivable act that baseball fans take to heart. He and the Astros are a disgrace to the league, their own organization, and the State of Texas.

For the record, I don't dislike all MLB players. Just the ones who are entitled, spoiled, bigoted, racist, and yes, the ones who have cheated. Nearly a year ago, I wrote and published my first Token of Appreciation story on Vocal, and it was about Marcus Semien. Yes, the Marcus Semien who spent five seasons with the Texas Rangers and won a World Series title. I've also given props this season to Bryce Harper and Pete Crow-Armstrong for hitting their first career cycles. Finally, I showed appreciation towards Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider for acknowledging LGBTQ+ Braves fans during Pride Month and being an advocate for the LGBTQ + community. I'll have links to those stories down below. Me showing gratitude towards certain MLB players are reserved for a select few. 

As for Justin Verlander, him being called a legend is a bit of a stretch. I won't refer to him as such, because he should've earned that title without any scandals or cheating attached to him. He played for three teams (Tigers, Astros, Giants). This season is his second stint with the Tigers in many years, but he's no legend. I'll share some names who were part of the Tigers who rightfully deserve the legend label in my opinion. Jim Leyland: legend. Miguel Cabrera: legend. Magglio Ordoñez: legend. Had Justin Verlander never cheated and just had a scandal-free career, a Token of Appreciation story would've been posted on this platform right now. I rather see Max Scherzer be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame over Verlander. Scherzer is a no nonsense, hardworking pitcher with integrity. Plus, many fans love and respect him. Sure, his performances have declined over the last few years, but he's still one of my favorite pitchers in the league. In closing, Justin Verlander will always be a cheater, a joke, a pathetic loser, and an embarrassment to the entire league. I won't miss him at all and I'm glad that he's retiring. Call me whatever you want, but Justin Verlander gets absolutely zero grace from me. I smell BS and call it out when necessary. Cheaters will never win in life and he's a perfect example of that. As the old saying goes: Once a cheater, always a cheater.

https://vocal.media/unbalanced/a-token-of-appreciation-marcus-semien

https://vocal.media/unbalanced/tokens-of-appreciation-twice-is-nice

https://vocal.media/pride/a-token-of-appreciation-spencer-strider