Tonight Former Teammates And Future Hall Of Famers Justin Verlander And Max Scherzer Face Off Against Each Other For The First Time In A Massive Game For Both Their Teams
We’re in for a treat here, folks. The men who were once teammates, then adversaries, then teammates, and now adversaries again, face off tonight for the first time. Even though they spent so much time being teammates, it’s incredible that these two never faced off against each other in any capacity. Their teams even played each other in the World Series in 2019 when Verlander was in Houston for the first time, and Scherzer was still in Washington with the Nationals. They played each other in that series, but they never faced off head-to-head.
The resumes speak for themselves. You’ll rarely have two pitchers facing off against each other with 467 combined wins, 6,672 combined strikeouts, six Cy Young awards, and three world championships. I will ignore that Detroit had these two in their primes and never won a world championship. We could forget that for a second. Watching these two throughout their entire careers has been remarkable. They truly are the last of a dying breed. You could throw Clayton Kershaw in there as well, and while Kershaw has been better in terms of run prevention, he has not been as durable throughout his career as these two have. The game has changed so much ever since these two came into the league, and yet, somehow, they’ve both been able to adapt.
I loved watching these guys pitch forever. They’re two of my favorite baseball players of all time. With that said, I have seen both of them this season take a minor step back. The fact that it’s taken him this long just to take a small step back is a testament to their durability. They probably should’ve taken a step back long ago, but they’ve just kept chugging. Seeing them face off tonight will be like watching Federer and Nadal face off in Wimbledon 2019. Are they at their absolute peak? No. Is it still a once-in-a-generation matchup that every baseball fan should watch? Absolutely.
Both these teams acquired these two at the deadline for games like this. They both came over from the Mets to pitch in big games. This is a huge game for both these teams. It would be a massive disappointment and maybe a little funny if both of them laid an egg today, but that’s not what I want. I want to see seven scoreless from both. Give me a pitching duel for the ages. We may never see these two face off ever again. I hope they make it count. 
