Getty Image / Scott Taetsch
A day after an anonymous Mets player leaked a statement about former teammates Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer not getting along, Verlander has released a statement about it.
Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander first pitched together for several years with the Detroit Tigers before they both left The Motor City for big contracts, in D.C. and Houston, respectively. Then they were briefly reunited on the New York Mets roster this season before Verlander was traded back to Houston and Scherzer was traded to the Rangers.
On Sunday, an anonymous Mets player’s comments to Mike Puma of the New York Post went viral. The player allegedly called Verlander a “diva” and said:
“Verlander and Scherzer had a strained relationship as Tigers teammates, and a source said even as the pitchers worked toward harmony with the Mets, there was occasional discord. Verlander was a ‘diva,’ according to this Met, causing Scherzer to grouse about his fellow three-time Cy Young award winner. Verlander often complained about the Mets’ analytics department, which he deemed inferior to the one that served him in Houston.”
Justin Verlander released a statement on Monday and is appearing to get the last laugh against the New York Mets.
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) August 14, 2023
The top replies are all over the place. One person wrote “Spill the tea on the Tigers Justin.” Someone else commented “Getting that easily offended? Mets will always be poverty.” Another suggested “you and Scherzer should celebrity box.”
Verlander’s ‘new and old!!’ line is doing a lot of work there, as is ‘that being said.’ He’s taking the ‘kill them with kindness’ approach here while throwing thinly-veiled shade at the Mets for taking “offense to constructive criticism” on how the team could improve.
Meanwhile, the Rangers and Astros are 1-2 in the AL West standings with the Astros occupying the 2nd AL Wild Card position. And the New York Mets, well they’re 12 games below .500 on the season.