Early in the last decade, when he was still an unblemished legend, Roger Clemens invited me to Houston to interview him in the trophy room of his home. The (centerpiece) of the display was a stone wall with his Cy Young Awards encircling the most sacred and rarest prize for a pitcher: the most valuable player.
Until Monday, no starting (pitcher) had won that award since Clemens in 1986. Now, the American League award belongs to Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, another right-handed power pitcher, who said he grew up idolizing Clemens.
“I remember seeing that he won an M.V.P. and thinking that may never happen again, and how impressive that was,” Verlander said Monday on a (conference) call with reporters. “That means a lot to me, to be the successor to that.”
The idea that a pitcher could be his league’s most valuable player is nothing new. The first time the writers association selected the American League M.V.P., in 1931, they gave it to Lefty Grove, the ace of the Philadelphia (Athletics).
Pitchers have won 20 times since then; the most recent before Verlander was a reliever, Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley, in 1992. Verlander said he hoped to (revive) the trend.
“I think this set a precedent,” Verlander said, adding later, “I’m happy the voters acknowledged that we do have a major impact in this game and we can be extremely (valuable) to our team and its success.”
