The news came first from a reliable source--his brother Ben Verlander. 🚨IT’S OFFICIAL🚨 @JustinVerlander is signing with Houston Astros!! — Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) November 17, 2021 And then, eight minutes later, it came from an even more reliable source--Mark Berman. MLB source: @JustinVerlander has reached an agreement on a one-year deal with the #Astros worth $25 million, with a player option for a second year. https://t.co/9fF9KULOfj — Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) November 17, 2021 Justin Verlander is back in Houston. In my off season preview, I wrote that the Astros rotation “lacks a “true ace,” but is deep with quality major league pitchers. The rotation proved effective in 2021 because the Astros were able to run out an average to above average starter every day….With that baseline, the front office could consider signing a top-of-the-line pitcher who could pitch Game 1 of the 2022 ALDS.” Meet the new ace, the same as the old ace. So what is the
The results of Rookie of the Year award can be quite curious . Some years it goes to the combination of future MVP winners, like is did in 2012 when Mike Trout and Bryce Harper won it. And some years it goes to players you forgot about very quickly, as in did in 2009 when Andrew Bailey and Chris Coughlan won it. One explanation for these inconsistent results is the inconsistency of each class of rookie major leaguers. Some years are stronger than others. But some of this inconsistency is based on the views of Rookie of the Year voters, who seem to shift their standards more frequently than voters for other awards. This is different than the Cy Young Award, where voters always seem to want to identify the best pitcher--full stop. And different from voting for the MVP, which has revolved around different interpretations of value over time. In the contemporary era, most voters seem to identify value primarily with who played the best, regardless of how the team performed (none of thi