Sometimes it’s hard for Tigers fans to stay objective.
I was pushing hard for Brandon Inge to win the AL Gold Glove, and I honestly don’t know if that was because I thought he truly deserved it, or because I’m a die-hard Tigers fan and I’ve got a huge man-crush on him like everyone else does. Hell, I even thought Leyland had a shot to win Manager of the Year without the Tigers making it to the playoffs.
So immediately after Zack Greinke won the Cy Young, I went into Justin Verlander defensive mode.
“He led the league in strikeouts and wins!”
“He went 6-2 in his last 8 starts!”
“He carried a first place team for five months and was the only reason they made it as far as they did!”
But then I got to thinking just how impressive Zack Greinke was. He was 16-8…with the Kansas City Royals, a team that went 65-97. That means that Greinke had 25% of Kansas City’s total victories. He was also first in the AL in ERA with a 2.16, first in WHIP with 1.07, second in strikeouts with 242, and had an opponent batting average of .230. To put those kind of numbers up with the ROYALS is insane!
Let’s give some credit where credit is due, Tigers fans. Verlander had a hell of a year, and he’s only getting better. His time will come, but for now, lets give kudos to Greinke, our fellow AL Central brethren.
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