When Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander 'butted heads' as teammates on the Detroit Tigers

When they were together at the Detroit Tigers, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander were "ultra-competitive." Both players, arguably the best pitchers of their generation, were never really friends and found themselves in an awkward position as teammates at the New York Mets.

Scherzer and Verlander are three-time Cy Young awardees. From 2010 to 2014, they were rotation-mates at the Detroit Tigers and were one of the biggest reasons for the Tigers' four consecutive AL Central titles. The Tigers lost twice in the ALCS but made it to the World Series in 2012, where they lost to San Francisco Giants.

During their time in Detroit, both pitchers were highly competitive. As their teammates and other executives from the Tigers have mentioned in subsequent interviews, Scherzer and Verlander were never friends.

Dave Dombrowski, general manager of the Tigers at the time, said:

“Let’s say they butted heads. It was never a bad butting. It would be more from a competitive perspective — which isn’t always bad. ‘OK, you pitched, now I’m going to be better than you. I don’t think they were two who went out a lot with one another, that type of (social, friendly) situation. I’d say the competitive aspect is the way to describe it. They were not the best of buddies, but I didn’t have any problems with them.”

Justin Verlander was already a well-known face when Max Scherzer joined The Motor City Kitties in 2010.

Verlander had won a Rookie of the Year award and was already a two-time All-Star. Scherzer started making his name in the 2012 season and would eventually match Verlander's 2011 Cy Young with one of his own in 2013.

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How did Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer fare before being teammates at Mets?

Both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have had similar careers since their time in Detroit.

Scherzer left in 2015 after signing a big contract with the Washington Nationals that eventually saw him win the World Series in 2019. He would win two consecutive Cy Young awards in 2016 and 2017 before joining the Mets in the 2022 season.

Verlander, meanwhile, left the Tigers for the Houston Astros in 2017. He would become a two-time World Series champion and win two Cy Young Awards in 2019 and 2022, the latter won after a Tommy John surgery.

After a successful spell at the Astros, Justin Verlander signed a two-year $86 million contract with the New York Mets that has 'reunited' him with his old friend Scherzer. It remains to be seen how both of them co-exist and fulfill Steve Cohen's dream of getting the Mets a World Series.