Justin Verlander Wins by MLB Opponent Now That the Star Pitcher Has Beaten Every Team
Breaking news: Justin Verlander wins MLB games pretty often when he takes the mound, and he made history for the New York Mets on May 10, 2023, by defeating the Cincinnati Reds.
The start, which came just over two months before he was shipped back to the Houston Astros, was ostensibly an innocuous one as the flamethrowing right-hander made just his second of 16 appearances for the Mets and earned the victory in a 2-1 affair, throwing seven innings of one-run ball to lower his season ERA to 2.25 and bring a disappointing club within a game of .500. But in doing so, he became just the 21st pitcher in MLB history to record a W against each and every one of the 30 franchises currently competing at baseball’s highest level.
Verlander had operated only as an American League pitcher before joining New York in the 2023 offseason, so he’d faced the National League Central squad in just two prior outings — only one of which, a 4-3 loss on June 18, 2019, saw him emerge as the pitcher of record. Now, he’s checked every box on the list and pushed the exclusive group from 20 to 21 names.
Justin Verlander wins and career record against every MLB team
Barring any unforeseen off-field developments, Justin Verlander is a veritable lock to make the Hall of Fame whenever he’s first eligible.
He’s a Triple Crown winner and earned both Cy Young and MVP honors during his 2011 campaign with the Detroit Tigers. That was just one of his three Cy Youngs, and the other two came eight and 11 years later with the Astros. He’s earned two World Series titles, led MLB in ERA on two separate occasions, made nine All-Star squads, and posted sterling stats throughout his impressive and lengthy career.
It stands to reason that he’s thrived against most opponents he’s faced, and that’s reflected in his lifetime numbers against each of MLB’s 30 present-day organizations:
| Opponent | Career Record | Career ERA | First Win | Most Recent Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 24-10 (.706) | 3.16 | 5/22/2006 | 7/7/2022 |
| Chicago White Sox | 23-14 (.622) | 3.66 | 8/21/2006 | 7/19/2023 |
| Minnesota Twins | 22-10 (.688) | 2.76 | 4/29/2006 | 8/23/2022 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 23-24 (.489) | 4.45 | 5/27/2006 | 5/21/2023 |
| Seattle Mariners | 22-10 (.688) | 3.02 | 4/23/2006 | 9/25/2023 |
| Texas Rangers | 21-8 (.724) | 2.60 | 4/8/2006 | 9/6/2023 |
| Oakland Athletics | 16-8 (.667) | 2.64 | 7/21/2006 | 9/16/2022 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 16-11 (.593) | 3.23 | 8/24/2009 | 8/11/2023 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 10-5 (.714) | 3.45 | 8/1/2006 | 8/27/2019 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 10-6 (.625) | 3.65 | 5/10/2006 | 8/4/2017 |
| New York Yankees | 10-9 (.526) | 3.41 | 8/16/2007 | 7/25/2023 |
| Boston Red Sox | 6-6 (.500) | 2.74 | 5/15/2007 | 8/22/2023 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 5-1 (.833) | 1.77 | 6/25/2011 | 9/30/2023 |
| Houston Astros | 5-1 (.833) | 2.82 | 6/28/2006 | 7/30/2017 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 5-2 (.714) | 3.51 | 6/11/2010 | 8/9/2017 |
| Washington Nationals | 4-0 (1.000) | 1.85 | 6/16/2010 | 7/30/2023 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 4-7 (.364) | 4.13 | 7/22/2010 | 9/1/2019 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 3-0 (1.000) | 1.42 | 6/17/2007 | 10/4/2022 |
| New York Mets | 3-1 (.750) | 3.13 | 6/30/2011 | 6/29/2022 |
| Colorado Rockies | 3-1 (.750) | 3.18 | 6/19/2011 | 8/30/2017 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 3-1 (.750) | 3.38 | 7/8/2014 | 8/3/2018 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 3-1 (.750) | 4.32 | 6/23/2006 | 6/19/2012 |
| Detroit Tigers | 3-3 (.500) | 2.77 | 9/10/2018 | 8/27/2023 |
| Miami Marlins | 2-0 (1.000) | 2.63 | 6/12/2022 | 8/16/2023 |
| San Francisco Giants | 2-0 (1.000) | 1.42 | 5/23/2018 | 7/1/2023 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 2-0 (1.000) | 1.57 | 6/12/2007 | 6/21/2009 |
| Chicago Cubs | 2-0 (1.000) | 1.98 | 6/17/2006 | 6/14/2012 |
| San Diego Padres | 2-0 (1.000) | 2.95 | 6/22/2008 | 4/12/2014 |
| Atlanta Braves | 2-2 (.500) | 3.75 | 6/23/2007 | 6/27/2010 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 1-1 (.500) | 3.15 | 5/10/2023 | 5/10/2023 |
Perhaps the most impressive distillation of the numbers seen above?
Verlander has a losing record against only two different teams: the Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays. He has a sub-4.00 ERA against 27 of the 30 opponents.
In many ways, he’s the exception rather than the rule within the 21-man club because most members haven’t been pitchers quite of his caliber.
21 pitchers have wins against every MLB team
Al Leiter, with an April 30, 2002, defeat of the Arizona Diamondbacks, became the founding member of the beat-every-team fraternity, capitalizing on both the expansion clubs that brought MLB to its current 30-squad construction and the advent of more frequent interleague affairs.
Membership has swelled incrementally over the years, and the pace of entry has only slowed as we draw closer to the present day. Why? That’s a complicated topic, but the simple summary is as follows: Bullpens are used more frequently in today’s game, and the necessity of throwing triple-digit gas or upper-90s heaters has made multidecade careers aberrations rather than the norm.
In the four years after Leiter proved this feat was feasible (2002-06), the club grew to five. Five more mound-dwellers punched their tickets from 2007-10, and another three from 2011-15. Four pitchers followed suit from 2016-20, but only Verlander and Gerrit Cole have gained admission since.
| Pitcher | Date Joining 30-Team Club | Final Team Defeated |
|---|---|---|
| Al Leiter | 4/30/2002 | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Kevin Brown | 3/31/2004 | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Terry Mulholland | 7/19/2004 | Detroit Tigers |
| Curt Schilling | 9/10/2004 | Seattle Mariners |
| Woody Williams | 9/26/2006 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Jamie Moyer | 5/26/2008 | Colorado Rockies |
| Randy Johnson | 4/19/2009 | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Barry Zito | 6/12/2010 | Oakland Athletics |
| Javier Vazquez | 7/21/2010 | Los Angeles Angels |
| Vicente Padilla | 8/10/2010 | Philadelphia Phillies |
| Derek Lowe | 5/10/2012 | Boston Red Sox |
| A.J. Burnett | 7/21/2012 | Miami Marlins |
| Dan Haren | 8/9/2013 | Philadelphia Phillies |
| Kyle Lohse | 6/26/2015 | Minnesota Twins |
| Tim Hudson | 7/26/2015 | Oakland Athletics |
| John Lackey | 4/18/2016 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Max Scherzer | 5/11/2016 | Detroit Tigers |
| Bartolo Colon | 8/20/2017 | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Zack Greinke | 9/14/2019 | Kansas City Royals |
| Gerrit Cole | 7/10/2021 | Houston Astros |
| Justin Verlander | 5/10/2023 | Cincinnati Reds |
Plenty of memorable names populate the above table, but it remains notable that only one has a bust in Cooperstown: the inimitable Randy Johnson.
Curt Schilling was quite obviously a Hall of Fame-caliber pitcher who has been denied a spot in the Hall of Fame for an assortment of non-pitching reasons, and Max Scherzer, Cole, and Verlander will surely join Johnson one day.
But for now, the 21-man club has more good-not-great occupants than historic standouts.
Active threats closest to joining the club
Justin Verlander may be the latest headlining member of the exclusive fraternity of MLB pitchers to defeat each and every team, and he’ll likely join Randy Johnson in the Hall of Fame whenever he’s eligible. But he won’t be the last hurler to reach the milestone.
Currently, five active pitchers are on an MLB roster and one team shy (Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, and Anibal Sanchez, all not technically retired but available as free agents, are also at 29):
- Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres: The right-hander is 0-2 with a 4.73 ERA in his two starts against the Baltimore Orioles
- Lance Lynn, Los Angeles Dodgers: The right-hander is 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA in two starts against the Texas Rangers.
- Wade Miley, Milwaukee Brewers: The left-hander is 0-4 with a 5.49 ERA in 13 starts against the New York Yankees.
- Charlie Morton, Atlanta Braves: The right-hander is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in one start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs: The right-hander is 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA in one start against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 28-team club is even less populated:
- Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals: The southpaw is 0-3 with a 10.80 ERA in four starts against the Arizona Diamondbacks and 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two starts against the Tampa Bay Rays.
- Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays: The right-hander is 0-0 with a 1.32 ERA in two starts against the Atlanta Braves and 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in three starts against the San Francisco Giants.
- Ian Kennedy, Texas Rangers: The right-hander would need to join a new squad to add the Rangers to his list, and he’s 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA in eight appearances (four starts) against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Trevor Bauer (pitching in Japan), Mike Minor (free agent), and Ivan Nova (free agent) also sit at 28, but none are currently part of an MLB organization. Clayton Kershaw, Michael Wacha, and Adam Wainwright are the lone active pitchers at 27 defeated teams, and a dozen active hurlers sit one shy of that mark.
