Justin Verlander is a no-hit pitcher. But he's also a no-hit hitter. It's like he's pitching to himself almost. In his career during interleague play, Verlander is 0-for-20 with 13 strikeouts and his seven other outs weren't exactly results of bad luck.
But Verlander is trying to change that. It's no secret around Detroit that he desperately wants to get his first hit and he's working harder than ever to get it. Apparently, he talks about it all the time, to the amusement of his teammates, and is even working with hitting coach Lloyd McClendon:
"I've changed my batting stance," Verlander said. "I tweaked it."
If you know Verlander, you know he's serious about all of this. You know that as competitive his personality is, he can't stand the idea that he can't hit.
"To not succeed at anything pisses me off," Verlander admitted. "And not just to not succeed — to not excel."
Verlander doesn't just want to get his first hit, though; he wants to homer.
And Verlander's work is starting to pay off in batting practice at least. He homered during BP in Minnesota, inspiring McClendon to predict that Verlander would collect his first hit when he pitches hits next week in Cincinnati, and he homered again in Boston this week — twice, reportedly.
After the jump is video of him hitting one out over the Green Monster:
