Getty Image
Justin Verlander is one of the most successful pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball, and as a result, he’s played in *a lot* of games over the course of his career.
All those games, according to his wife Kate Upton, are far more frequent than supermodel Kate Upton realized when she “accidentally fell in love” with the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
“Being a baseball wife is absolutely insane. Like this schedule is wild — it’s so long. I didn’t know. I accidentally fell in love. I had no idea that there were this many games,” Upton told the Chicks in the Office podcast.
“Wait, like I thought this was like a cute summer thing. This is eight months. They’re doing 163 games [it’s actually 162]. No off days, no consecutive off days. Only Mondays and Thursdays.”
Upton said that playoff season is particularly brutal because not only does she not see him but the games are far more stressful due to their importance.
“I don’t see him. Especially when you start getting into late playoffs, when the baseball is so exciting, but you’re like, ‘I haven’t seen my husband in months. Like they better win!’ This better be worth it!”
Upton and Verlander have been married since 2017. In each season since, Verlander has played in 34, 34, 1, 28, 11, 16, and 10 games, respectively. And over the last three seasons, Verlander has pitched in just 37 games.
This season with the Houston Astros — where he’s been since 2017 bar half-a-season with the New York Mets in 2023 — Verlander has started in 10 games and has posted a record of 3-2, while tossing an ERA of
You can watch the clip of Upton discussing her marriage to Verlander below.