Verlander: Trade Was 'Toughest Decision Of His Life'

On Friday afternoon, former Detroit Tigers star pitcher Justin Verlander posted a goodbye on Instagram to one set of fans while also saying hello to another. In a short video, he said he had 45 minutes to make the “toughest decision of his life,” on whether to accept a trade from the Tigers to the Houston Astros.

“Thank you to Detroit for an incredible 13-seasons, a city that will always be important to me,” he wrote in the post. “But now I couldn’t be more excited to join the Astros and am looking forward to getting started right away. I am committed to making an impact off the field, especially during such difficult times.”

It was a hard decision all the way around. Detroit Tigers General Manager Al Avila told the Detroit News the realization that a 10-year run of outstanding baseball was coming to a close was tough. But the conditions were right to deal Verlander.

“It’s a hard thing, but a necessary thing,” Avila told the News. “If we didn’t do this now, it would be impossible to continue to sustain a winning team.”

It was especially hard on fans, most of whom sent encouragement to Verlander via social media, but also expressed a sense of loss.

Others were critical of the team for the move:

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