Justin Verlander was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers and developed into a Cy Young Award winner and MVP. Verlander knew that he was going to be selected highly in the draft, but not everybody in his household was prepared for the phone calls he would receive.
In a clip recorded for MLB Network’s coverage of the 2013 MLB Draft, Verlander shared a story about the draft party his family held in ’04. Because of all the commotion from the party, the Tigers ace says that his mother accidentally hung up on Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who had called the house after drafting the pitcher.
“I had a party at my parents’ house,” Verlander recalled. “I remember not hearing my name being called because my dad couldn’t get the Internet working fast enough. So he’s running around the house knowing that the draft has started and he can’t get it hooked up. So he finally gets it hooked up, and I didn’t hear my name called.
“So we got a call from the Tigers saying that they had selected me. And then Dave Dombrowski, who was the GM for the Tigers and still is, called my house. My mom picks up the phone and she’s like, ‘Who’s this? Oh, we’re having a party, he’ll call you back later.’ And hung up on him. My dad said, ‘Who was that?’ She told him, and he was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what are you doing?’
“So it was a good time, it was fun.”
Pretty funny story. The good news is that it could have been worse. At least Verlander wasn’t prank-called on draft day like this guy.
