Justin Verlander should most definitely be featured in the 2013 MLB All-Star festivities, just as long as he never picks up a bat.
Common logic aside, the Detroit Tigers ace flirted with the notion of appearing in the Chris Berman bark-fest known as the Home Run Derby with the following tweet:
Please note the pitcher—who has a 3.68 ERA with 82 strikeouts and 1.36 WHIP on the year—is now rocking a Twitter avatar of himself in the batter's box.
There should be just one reaction to this if Verlander is indeed serious:
If you are wondering how successful Verlander might be with a bat in his hands, CBS Sports' Danny Knobler has an answer to that burning question:
He has 24 career at-bats. He has zero hits. And 14 strikeouts.
Add in the World Series, and it's 27 at-bats with 15 strikeouts. And still zero hits.
And yet, every year, Verlander promises he's going to get a hit. And not just one. And not just a single.
Of course, as Knobler offers, Verlander is probably making the tweet in jest. It should also be noted he has a habit of promising various hits and home runs to reporters to no avail.
Still, you only need a small spark to ignite a roaring fire of support for an audacious campaign such as this.
The last thing we need at the Derby is a pitcher who will show us what 10 ground balls in the infield look like. And really, we already have plenty of high-profile sluggers who have us changing the channel thanks to their inability to flip the power switch to the "on" position.
Yes, we know you're kidding, Mr. Verlander. But there is nothing funny about the Home Run Derby, except the fact people still seem to enjoy hearing Berman shout "back, back, back" at them all night.
If we really wanted a Tiger who can't seem to hit home runs, we could just vote in Victor Martinez.
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