"Matt Chapman rolled Justin Verlander out in a wheelchair" - Giants superstar’s brother spills birthday antics as the 9x All-Star turns 42

Three-time Cy Young Award-winner Justin Verlander joined the San Francisco Giants for the 2025 season on a one-year, $15 million deal last month. Verlander is set to start his 20th major league campaign this year, and the nine-time All-Star celebrated his 42nd birthday this past Thursday.

Ben Verlander, younger brother of Justin Verlander, disclosed some of the antics that had taken place at the San Francisco Giants spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on the occasion. The Giants players led by third baseman Matt Chapman played out a hilarious act as a light-hearted tribute to the aging pitcher.

On Saturday, Ben Verlander posted a photograph from the Giants training facility showing Justin Verlander sitting in a wheelchair. He also shared a message on X with the image.

"Oh my god!" he wrote. "For Justin’s birthday, Matt Chapman rolled him out in a wheelchair and all rookies and teammates with less than one year of service time sung him Happy Birthday."

Verlander was the second overall pick of the 2004 MLB Draft for the Detroit Tigers and made his major league debut with the team the following year. He was named the 2006 American League Rookie of the Year and went on to win three Cy Young Awards as well as the 2011 AL MVP. Verlander also won two World Series rings with the Houston Astros in 2017 and 2022.

Analytics to blame for devaluing role of starting pitcher, says Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander has racked up 262 wins over his career so far (Image Source: IMAGN)

Justin Verlander is considered one of the last of a dying breed of workhorse aces that are no longer the norm, as starting pitchers barely last more than five innings in the game today. Verlander recently made headlines for blaming the dependence on analytics in baseball as the chief cause for the rapidly diminishing importance of the starting pitcher's role.

"There are times you end up being lucky or unlucky loss-wise," he told USA Today, "but devaluing the win is just another way that analytics are trying to not value something that they have a hard time quantifying. The best pitchers win more games. They go deeper in the game. They have more opportunities to win games. It’s like a lost art."

"We used to make fun of guys for going five-and-fly," he added. “Now, it’s the standard."

Verlander is one of two active pitchers with more than 3000 strikeouts, and he currently needs 38 more victories to join the 300-wins club.