Justin Verlander And Brad Ausmus: An Uncommon Bond
By Will Burchfield
Twitter: Burchie_kid
Justin Verlander had thrown 108 pitches on a steamy Wednesday afternoon when Brad Ausmus strolled toward the mound with two outs in the eighth and a runner on first. The manager wanted to make sure his ace had some gas left in the tank.
It was, one might say, a jiffy exchange.
"I could tell by the way he answered my question and the look in his eye that he felt he could get [Mauer]," Ausmus said, referring to the next batter. "He's been doing this a long time so I left him in."
From Verlander's perspective, the discussion was settled before it began.
"As soon as he didn't signal [to the bullpen] by the time he got out there I knew he was going to ask me if I was alright, and the answer was obviously 'Yes.'
"It was a pretty quick conversation," Verlander added.
So Ausmus promptly turned around and sauntered back to the dugout, carried by cheers that had moments ago been boos. Verlander joined him four pitches later, after inducing a weak groundout from Mauer and pounding his mitt in satisfaction. The skipper had trusted his ace, and Verlander made good on his word.
Ausmus, in general, is a players' manager. He shows faith in his guys through thick and thin, trusting them, sometimes, to a fault. This is especially true regarding his starting pitchers. Despite ranking 17th in the majors in ERA, Tigers' starters have thrown more pitches this season than all but six staffs in the league.
But Verlander's leash is noticeably longer. When most players are reined in, the ace is allowed to stray. This extra latitude is a product of Verlander's impressive track record, to be sure, but also the unspoken connection between two like-minded competitors.
As soon as Verlander saw Ausmus pop out of the dugout on Wednesday afternoon, he was sending the skipper signs.
"I'm hoping to make eye contact with him so he knows I'm good," Verlander explained.
And as soon as Ausmus arrived at the mound, he understood.
"I went out there thinking I'm going to ask him how he feels and if I detect any wavering whatsoever, Justin Wilson is ready for Mauer," Ausmus said. "But I could tell by the tone of his voice and body language that he was good."
Some say Ausmus is too accommodating of Verlander. Others go further and suggest he is submissive, claiming he doesn't have the nerve to stand up to his ace. Ausmus wouldn't be here if that were the case, though, and his recent trust in Verlander isn't without statistical logic.
"It's been about a year on the nose now where he's just been really good," Ausmus said. "His numbers since, I wanna say in Boston of last year, are outstanding."
Beginning with that start (July 24, 2015), Verlander is 14-11 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 4.04 K:BB ratio. In 15 of 34 starts in that span, he has pitched at least seven innings while allowing two runs or less. And in line with his strong performance, he has exceeded 100 pitches 31 times, and 110 pitches 14 times. His pitches-per-start average? 108.1.
For comparison's sake, Jordan Zimmermann has thrown more than 100 pitches in 11 of his 15 starts this year without topping 110 once, for a per-start average of 100.7. Last year, David Price was 15/21 in exceeding 100 pitches, but just 7/21 in exceeding 110, averaging 105.7 pitches per start. Though Zimmermann and Price have more or less matched Verlander's performance in the past, they simply haven't gained the same measure of Ausmus' trust.
"I like to think that I earned that trust and I like to think that he knows I'm going to be honest with him," Verlander said. "It's nice to have."
True, but the bond between he and Ausmus seems to transcend the results. Ausmus, for his part, loves Verlander's competitiveness, a trait he feels is beginning to wane in younger players.
"Nowadays it's more of a rarity," the skipper said.
But Price is notoriously competitive, as well, and Zimmermann is no pushover. At the risk of digging too deep into a simple relationship, there seems to be a personal affinity between Verlander and Ausmus. It can lead the manager astray at times – four homers in one inning, anyone?? – but its compass is mostly true.
"You always want to finish what you started, and if I'm going to go out there for that 8th inning, I wanna finish the 8th inning," Verlander said. "Brad showed some faith in me and I was glad I was able to get [Mauer] out."