Verlander: 'I still have a chance' at 300 wins
Justin Verlander has yet to reach the 200-win mark - and likely won't do so until next season - but he's already aiming far beyond that historic plateau to something far bigger.
The Detroit Tigers ace believes he has what it takes to become just the 25th 300-game winner in baseball history, despite the very long odds he'd face to reach the milestone.
But the 34-year-old remains focused on getting to 300 despite the significant hurdle of Father Time. With health now back on his side, Verlander said he thinks he can "pitch until (he's) 44" if that's what it will take to reach the mark, according to Barry Bloom of MLB.com.
"It's (300 wins) not going to happen much anymore, but I still have a chance," Verlander said this week. "I wouldn't have thought that a couple of years ago because of injuries. I'm healthy now, feel good and think I can make a run at it."
Pitch counts and bullpen specialization have made 300 wins - long considered one of the gold standards for pitchers - harder to reach. Randy Johnson is the most recent member of the club, having joined it in 2009.
Verlander owns 177 career wins, and ran off nine straight seasons of double-digit victories at one point - but he's still far behind active wins leader Bartolo Colon (235).
ACTIVE MLB WINS LEADERS
| Pitcher | Current Team | Age | Wins | MLB Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartolo Colon | Braves | 44 | 235 | 20 |
| C.C. Sabathia | Yankees | 36 | 227 | 17 |
| John Lackey | Cubs | 38 | 180 | 15 |
| Justin Verlander | Tigers | 34 | 177 | 13 |
| Zack Greinke | D-Backs | 33 | 161 | 14 |
(Win totals accurate as of Thursday)
Lower win total aside, Verlander can already stake a claim to being a top-five pitcher of his generation. He owns both a Cy Young and MVP award, a pitching Triple Crown, two no-hitters, and four strikeout titles, not to mention pitching over 235 innings three times - an outstanding feat considering the era in which he's pitching.
Yet even though Verlander's resume may already scream Hall of Fame lock to many, even before glancing at the win column, he still holds wins in high regard, and believes that winning 300 games - or getting as close to that mark as possible - will be what ultimately sends him to Cooperstown.
"That's been my dream since I was a little kid," Verlander said about the Hall of Fame. "You want to be great, you want to be great for a long time. There's no better way to quantify that than to be in the Hall of Fame. I know there's still work to be done, but voters are going to have to go less with the traditional numbers, specifically wins.
"Wins are going to be less valued moving forward, but I don't totally agree with that. I like wins. I like winning. That's what my job is when I go out there: It's to win a ballgame."