The MLB Hot Stove has been – for lack of a better word – hot at times, while also in a holding pattern for several teams. A lot of big names have already moved, or are getting close to doing so. While most of the attention is on the younger stars, Justin Verlander made waves recently by signing with the San Francisco Giants on a one-year deal.
Verlander is coming off of the worst season of his career, sporting a 5.48 ERA across 17 starts. But he was fantastic in 2022 and 2023, so it makes sense for the Giants to take a risk on the 41-year-old. Verlander’s Giants career has gotten off to a quirky start already. In his first media availability, reporter Taylor Wirth didn’t realize he was muted and made fun of Verlander for having “Kate Upton” as his name on the Zoom call.
Giants reporter forgets to mute himself during Justin Verlander’s first media call
Upton, of course, has been Verlander’s wife since 2017. The reporter chiming in prompted a public message for all media member to mute themselves. Verlander took it on the chin, saying “I’ll change it“.
He certainly did, changing the name to “JUSTIN VERLANDER (not Kate)“. It was a funny exchange that once again showed Verlander’s humor. To be fair to Wirth, he ended up making fun of himself on X after the fact.
This could be a precursor to an entertaining time in the Bay Area for Verlander.