No one really knew what to expect from Justin Verlander in 2022.
The Astros ace was coming off Tommy John surgery that had cost him all but one start in 2020 and all of the 2021 season. Most pitchers bounce back from the procedure all right. But Verlander was returning to the hill in his late 30s, and it was the first time in his career he had missed extensive time with an injury.
Verlander looked every bit as dominant as he did in 2019, when he won his second AL Cy Young, if not more so. He finished the 2022 regular season with a league-best 1.75 ERA and an 18-4 record. He had 185 strikeouts and 29 walks in 175 innings of work.
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The right-hander has many impressive career accomplishments that will adorn his plaque in Cooperstown, and he has only added more in 2022.
How old is Justin Verlander?
Verlander is 39 years old. He celebrated his birthday just over a month before the start of the 2022 season.
During his Age 39 campaign, Verlander posted a Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR) of 5.9. According to Stathead, that is tied for the 12th-best season for a pitcher 39 or older. It is also the best season by a pitcher 39 or older since John Smoltz posted 5.9 bWAR in 2006.
His season ranked among the best in nearly every category for a starting pitcher his age or older (per Stathead).
| Category | Stat | All-time rank |
|---|---|---|
| bWAR | 5.9 | T-12th |
| ERA | 1.75 | 6th |
| ERA+ | 220 | 5th |
| FIP | 2.49 | 13th |
| WHIP | 0.829 | T-1st |
| WPA | 4.2 | 6th |
| Strikeouts | 185 | T-17th |
| Wins | 18 | T-17th |
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Justin Verlander postseason stats
With his age has come plenty of opportunities to pitch in the playoffs, and Verlander has plenty of impressive playoff stats in career.
He first pitched in the postseason in 2006. Since then, Verlander has set the MLB postseason record for the most strikeouts (224). On top of that, Verlander has the fourth-most innings (202), is tied for the second-most wins (15) and has made the fourth-most starts (32).
Overall, Verlander has a 3.69 ERA, a 1.100 WHIP and 2.06 win probability added in the postseason.
The one area where he has lacked success has been in the World Series. With a record of 0-6, Verlander has the most losses in the Fall Classic without a win. He has posted a 6.07 ERA and 1.326 WHIP pitched in and 43 innings over eight games. He has also posted a minus-1.02 WPA.
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Who is the oldest pitcher to win a Cy Young award?
Verlander's resurgent campaign appears likely to net him his third Cy Young award. If it does, he would become one of the oldest pitchers to win the award. He would not be the oldest, however.
That distinction belongs to Roger Clemens, who in 2004 was 42 when he was voted the NL Cy Young winner for his season with the Astros. Padres hurler Gaylord Perry previously held the record when he won the NL award in 1978 at age 40.
Early Wynn of the White Sox was 39 when he won the Cy Young award in 1959, before there was one winner in each league. He was the second American League pitcher to win the award and the fourth recipient in the award's history.
