Giants expect big things from Verlander, who wears familiar number originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SCOTTSDALE — Justin Verlander is preparing for his 20th big league season, but in some ways he is playing catchup with the 23-year-old pitchers who will be watching his every move this spring. After years with the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets and Houston Astros, Verlander is experiencing his first spring training in Arizona. Soon to be 42, he’ll spend the early days of camp asking much younger teammates about local restaurants and places to visit.

When he wears orange and black for the first time, though, Verlander will at least feel a sense of comfort. There has been orange in every big league uniform he has donned, and with the Giants, he will once again get to wear No. 35.

On the first day of camp, Verlander said he had a great conversation with Brandon Crawford, who gave his blessing to wear a number that may one day be retired at Oracle Park because of the shortstop. Verlander has worn 35 every season since 2006.

“I very much respect Brandon, the organization, what he was able to accomplish here,” Verlander said. “I just wanted to make sure I went about it the right way.”

The two spoke about what the number means to each of them. Verlander said he initially gravitated to the number because Frank Thomas was his favorite player when he was growing up. Later in life, Verlander’s wife, Kate Upton, cut one of his jerseys in half and sewed it together with half of one of Thomas’ jerseys and got Thomas to sign it. For Crawford, it immediately held special meaning when he suited up for his hometown team.

“The number 35 is special to me because it was the only one I ever wore in my big league career. But there’s more to it than that. When I got my call up, Murph told me that he wanted me to wear 35 because I reminded him of two great Giants shortstops, Rich Aurilia and Chris Speier,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area in a text message. “Obviously growing up a Giants fan I watched Richie in that number for years, so I thought that was pretty cool by itself. But when a guy that had been doing his job as long as Murph had still got as excited as he did to give some rookie his number, that made it even more special to me.

“As much as it might take some getting used to seeing someone else wearing (number) 35 in a Giants uni, I’m glad it’ll be on Justin. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer, but he has also been a great ambassador to the game throughout his career and is as competitive as they come. I’m excited to watch the number be represented well at Oracle this season.”

Even after chatting it over with Crawford, Verlander still had some hesitation. But he kept recalling how Buster Posey told him during the recruiting process that it would be cool to see him win his 300th game in orange and black.

“What if that happens?” said the right-hander, who is 38 wins away. “If that does happen, I can’t see myself wearing any other number than 35. That was kind of the thing that triggered it for me, and also having Brandon’s blessing.”

Verlander took the field for the first time Wednesday and said he continues to feel great about where he is at physically. He changed his offseason routine after a down year in 2024 and said he got up to 50 pitches in his last bullpen session.

“This is for sure the best I’ve felt in the last few years,” he said.

The staff put Verlander in the same clubhouse corner as Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. The expectation is that the three veterans, two of whom have Cy Young Awards, will lead the rotation. The early returns have been positive.

“Watching some of the video this spring, he looks like pretty much the same guy (as in the past),” manager Bob Melvin said of Verlander. “You look at the internal numbers, the vert and the velos and stuff like that (from) bullpens and it’s all been really good. I know last year he had some neck and shoulder stuff bothering him — he feels fully healthy now.

“He’s just one of those guys that defies Father Time and has done it for a long time. Part of it is who he is as a pitcher and the confidence he has, and he certainly should have confidence based on his career. It’s unwavering for him as far as what he feels like he can do on a baseball field. If he’s healthy, even some of the starts you saw last year, they were really productive. We’re really counting on him. He knows it.”