So Long JV

*Warning – Self-serving, off-topic post.

Justin Verlander was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Houston Astros. Detroit’s Golden Boy. 13 seasons. Gone. Normally I don’t get emotional about sports. It’s just a game, a distraction. This one hurts.

I moved to Michigan in grade school. I became a Detroit Tigers fan. I remember going to my first game with my cub scout troop from Houghton Lake. I would attend a few dozen more including game 4 of the 1984 World Series. But, my fondest memories are listening to the game on the radio with my Grandfather while he would piddle and make candles in his basement.

Time moved on and life took me back to my home state of Virginia. The Army, college, marriage, and work would consume my time and baseball took a back seat. Many years later, Justin Brooks Verlander would sign with the Tigers. He went to Goochland High School just up the road from me. “Skippy” some folks around here called him because of his ritual of skipping once as he exits the dugout. Gradually my interest in baseball, and the Tigers came alive again. Thanks to MLBTV I watch most games and every game JV pitches (unless they are in the west coast time zone). I have made several pilgrimages to Detroit to watch the Tigers. This year the Tigers are a horrible baseball team. I skipped the pilgrimage this year because with a very busy work schedule I couldn’t justify the time and expense. Maybe, if I would’ve known for sure…

This brings me to a point I have argued for a long time. Rooting for a team just isn’t enough. I need someone to root for. A team is a group of players and somewhere within that group there needs to be a core. “The” guys. THE team. Major sports don’t get it. They, like many of their “fans” have a win at all costs mentality. It is my belief that this is why so many folks who used to be real fans just don’t follow sports any more. Jerry Seinfeld said it best, “you’re actually rooting for the clothes when you get right down to it.” That just isn’t good enough for me or them either.

I don’t want to get into this too much but recently the Tigers have traded J.D. Martinez, Justin Wilson, Alex Avila, Justin Upton, and Justin Verlander. We got “prospects” in return. “They” said that the team needs to rebuild. The team wouldn’t need to rebuild if “they” had done their job in the first place. So, we the fans sit here with a shell of a baseball team and unproven prospects in the farm league.

So JV, I will be following you in Houston, watching every game you pitch. Rooting for you to go to the World Series. I hope you get the ring you deserve.