Verlander came in and did exactly what the team needed him to do. He rebounded from a, what was sub par by his standards, season. He came in and was lights out for the Astros the last month of the season and in the post season.
Looking at Verlander’s stats throughout his career, there are very obvious mountains and very obvious valleys. He seemingly bottomed out in 2008, posting career worsts in losses (17), ERA (4.84), WHIP (1.402), and walks (87). Aside from injury shortened seasons, it was also his second lowest strikeout total (163) of his career.