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Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz
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- Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz
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The post Giants' Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz appeared first on ClutchPoints .
At 42 years old, Justin Verlander is still making plays on the mound, and he wants to continue to do so beyond this season. Verlander is on a hot streak for the San Francisco Giants , as he's only given up three runs over 31 innings in his past five starts.
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Everyone is noticing his strong play, even John Smoltz, who had some high praise for him recently on the Flippin' Bats Podcast.
"There will never, under the current circumstances of baseball and the reward system, ever be a pitcher who pitches 20 years again," Smoltz said. "You could make a statement that they'll be the last ones to ever have that many strikeouts. You can make 10 categories that no one will ever reach, but they need to study him and use him as an example for the future if we want to change the narrative of how pitch should be used and what they should do.
"I'm talking all the way back from he's got 99, he had 98, but he didn't use it all the time. He used his gears, and then when he had to dial it up, he did. And you can still make a claim that, at his age and his velocity, he knows how to pitch. The reason we'll never see it again is that this generation won't be allowed to do that."
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Verlander has 265 career wins, which is one behind Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for 34th on the all-time list. If Verlander returns next year, he'll be in his 21st season, and is letting everyone know that he would love to return.
"I would hope somebody would offer me a contract now," Verlander said via Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
If Verlander can continue to play at a high level, there should be no reason why somebody doesn't give him a shot next season.
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