After winning the Cy Young Award last week, Justin Verlander thought he knew when the phone call would come Monday if he had won the MVP. When 15 minutes after that time passed and the phone had not rung, he was about to give up hope.
“I figured,” Verlander said, “somebody else got the call.”
Just about then the phone rang. Verlander had won the American League MVP to go with the Cy Young he won last week and the Rookie of the Year he won in 2006.
“Pure elation, really,” said Verlander, who received 13 first-place votes on the 28 ballots cast by BBWAA members to beat out Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.
Unlike many players who try to downplay their desire to win awards, Verlander was anything but shy when talking about his hopes—and his case. He said he did not let himself thinking about the MVP voting until Monday, when he spent the morning “playing pingpong in my head.”
For a few minutes, he would think he wasn’t going to win. Then he would tell himself not to think negatively because he could jinx himself. Finally, he thought, “Fate already has been written. The votes already are in. Sit back and wait.”
Becoming the first starter since Roger Clemens—”one of my idols,” Verlander said—to win the AL MVP added to his satisfaction. So did becoming the fourth Tigers pitcher to win, following Guillermo Hernandez (1984), Denny McLain (1968) and Hal Newhouser (1944 and ’45).
Verlander said he quickly called his catcher, Alex Avila, to share the news. “He was as excited as I was. He said I made his day, which means a lot to me,” Verlander said. “I told him I definitely could not have done this without him.”
Earlier Monday, Verlander had sent teammate Miguel Cabrera a good-luck text, saying, “I hope one of the two of us wins it.” Cabrera texted back after the announcement. “He said I deserved it,” Verlander said.
Verlander understood the odds against pitchers winning the MVP but believes he beat the everyday players with a season when he led the A.L. in wins (24), ERA (2.40), strikeouts (250) and innings (251).
“A starting pitcher has to do something special,” Verlander said. “Having a chance to play in 160-some games in the case of Miguel, (position players) can have a huge impact every day. On my day, on a pitcher’s day, the impact we have is tremendous on that game. You have to have a great impact almost every time out to supersede that. It happens on rare occasion. I guess this year was one of those years.”