Justin Brooks Verlander (born February 20, 1983, in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. He ended the 2005 season pitching for the Erie SeaWolves, the AA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. He became the fifth starter in the Tigers rotation in . Verlander, a 6'5", 200 pound (1.96 m, 91 kg) right-hander, pitched for the Old Dominion University baseball team for three years. In 2003, he set a school single season record by recording 139 strikeouts; in 2004, he broke his own record and established a new Colonial Athletic Association record with 151 strikeouts. In 2006, he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. On June 12, 2007 he pitched a no-hitter - the first ever at Comerica Park - against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out 12 batters and walking four.The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News

The Detroit Tigers are a professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Tigers are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Tigers have played in Comerica Park.

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in . The Tigers constructed Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull and began playing there in . In 1912, the team moved into Navin Field, which was built on the same location. In 1938, a substantially-improved facility, Briggs Stadium, was built, and it was renamed Tiger Stadium, in 1961.

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws

the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. In the National League and the Japanese Central League, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League and spreading throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy.

In most cases, the object of a pitch is to deliver the ball to the catcher without allowing the batter to hit the ball. The ball is delivered in such a way that the batter either can't hit a pitch through the strike zone, hits the ball poorly (resulting in a pop fly or ground out), or is fooled into swinging at a pitch outside of the strike zone. If the batter elects not to swing at the pitch, it is called a strike if the ball passes through the strike zone and a ball is when a pitch doesn't pass through the strike zone and the batter doesn't swing. The batter can also check swing. A check swing is when the batter swings half way when the batter thinks the pitch will be a ball. If the batter successfully check swings and the pitch is out of the strike zone, it is called a ball.

There are two legal pitching positions, the windup and the set (also called the stretch). Either position may be used at any time; typically, the windup is used when the bases are empty and the set is used when runner(s) are on base. Each position has certain procedures that must be followed. A power pitcher is a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches to succeed. Generally, power pitchers record a high percentage of strikeouts. A control pitcher succeeds by throwing accurate pitches and thus records few walks.

Nearly all action during a game is centered around the pitcher for the defensive team. A pitcher's particular style and skill heavily influences the dynamics of the game and will often determine the victor.

The type and sequence of pitches chosen depends upon the particular situation in a game. Because pitchers and catchers must coordinate each pitch, a system of hand signals are used by the catcher to communicate choices to the pitcher, to which the pitcher either vetoes or accepts. The relationship between pitcher and catcher is so important, that some teams use more than one starting catcher; selecting the catcher for a particular game based on who the starting pitcher is. Together, the pitcher and catcher are known as the battery.

Starting with the pivot foot on the pitchers rubber at the center of the pitchers mound, which is from home plate, the pitcher throws the baseball to the catcher, who is positioned behind home plate and catches the ball. Meanwhile, a batter stands in the batter's box at one side of the plate, and attempts to bat the ball safely into fair play.

Although the object and mechanics of pitching remain the same for all pitchers, pitchers may be classified according to their roles and effectiveness. The starting pitcher begins the game and he may be followed various relief pitchers, such as the long reliever, the left-handed specialist, the middle reliever, the setup man, and/or the closer.

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that eventually aspired to major league status. The league is often called the Junior Circuit because it was elevated to Major League status in 1901, 25 years after the formation of the National League (the "Senior Circuit"). The American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion after the end of every season. Through the 2007 season, American League teams have won 61 of the 103 World Series played since 1903, with 26 of those coming from the New York Yankees alone. The Boston Red Sox, are the defending American League champions, winning the AL Pennant in 2007 before going on to sweep the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series.