KANSAS CITY -- Justin Verlander was handing out red poppy flowers around the Tigers' clubhouse on Monday afternoon, even saving a few for the media. He did it for a cause close to his heart.
As part of a national campaign, Verlander is trying to raise awareness of the poppy flower as a remembrance of those who have died in military service. It's a tradition dating to World War I; the poem "In Flanders Fields" references poppies growing over soldiers' graves. The poppy is a well-known symbol of Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom, marking the end of hostilities in World War I.