In Play Magazine
JUSTIN VERLANDER NAMED TIGER OF THE YEAR BY THE DETROIT CHAPTER OF THE BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
DETROIT – Righthanded pitcher Justin Verlander has been unanimously selected as the Tiger of the Year for 2009 in voting by the Detroit Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Verlander posted a 19-9 record and 3.45 ERA (240.0IP/92ER) during the 2009 season. He led the American League with 35 games started, 240.0 innings pitched, 269 strikeouts and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Additionally, he tied for the league lead with 19 wins, finished third with 4.27 strikeouts per walk, fifth with 10.80 baserunners per nine innings, tied for fifth with three complete games, sixth with a 3.45 ERA and 8.21 hits per nine innings, tied for sixth with a .243 batting average against and eighth with a .679 winning percentage.
Verlander became the first Tigers pitcher to lead the American League in strikeouts since Jack Morris did so in 1983 with 232 strikeouts. His 269 strikeouts stand as the fifth-most in franchise history and mark the most by an American League pitcher since Boston’s Pedro Martinez fanned 284 batters during the 2000 season. His 240.0 innings pitched marked the most by a Tigers pitcher since Morris worked 249.2 innings for the Tigers in 1990.
This year’s honor marks the first career Tiger of the Year award for Verlander.
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