Chris Ilitch on Justin Verlander's return: 'He never left the Tigers family'
The reunion between the Tigers and Justin Verlander began with a text from the pitcher to the owner. Within weeks, he was signed.
Detroit — It all started with a text from Justin Verlander to Christopher Ilitch. "Do you got a minute to talk? " That led to a phone conversation between the two — and eventually, a confab between Ilitch, the Tigers president and CEO, and Scott Harris, the Tigers president of baseball operations.
And within weeks, one of the greatest Tigers was a Tiger again, nearly a decade after Detroit traded Verlander away to Houston at the onset of a long rebuild. "He never left the Tigers family. He's like one of us, he is one of us," Ilitch said during Friday's 4-0 home-opening win over the St.
Louis Cardinals, while making an inning-long cameo on the Detroit SportsNet broadcast. "He loves this team, he loves this city, he loves these fans. "He loves Tiger fans.
He talks about them all the time. " Tigers fans feel the same way, as judged by the roaring ovation Verlander had during pregame player introductions. The award for the loudest ovation might've gone to the guy to Verlander's right, Tarik Skubal (another free-agent decision looming over Ilitch, and a much bigger one), but it was darn close.