HOUSTON — Justin Verlander worked 251 innings in 2011. No pitcher has done it since, and it might never happen again. He would like to have challenged himself in an earlier era.
“I do often wonder how I would have been back then,” Verlander said on Friday, before the start of the American League Championship Series. “I think it would be a pretty cool time to play baseball.”
Verlander, 34, will start Game 2 for the Houston Astros on Saturday against the Yankees’ Luis Severino. Verlander threw 206 innings this season, ranking fourth in the majors. He was one of only 15 pitchers to work 200 innings, the fewest in a nonstrike season.