Rockies Young Pitcher Had a Devastating Burn About Justin Verlander’s Age

Their MLB debuts will be separated by literal decades. Chase Dollander, a 23-year-old pitcher, made his Cactus League debut for the Colorado Rockies on Monday against the San Francisco Giants. The other starting pitcher in the game was Justin Verlander, who just turned 42 last week. Dollander was asked what it was like pitching against Verlander and had a funny, but completely true response about their age difference. "That was awesome. Somebody told me he debuted in 2005," said Dollander. "I was four years old at the time so that's pretty cool to be able to do that. Yeah, had a lot of fun." To be completely accurate, Dollander would have actually only been three and a half when Verlander made his MLB debut on July 4, 2005.
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On Monday, Verlander, who is on a one-year, $15 million deal, gave up one run on one hit in two innings. Dollander, who will still have to be pitching in the 2040s if he wants to catch Verlander on MLB's all-time wins list, gave up one run and two hits in two innings and struck out three batters. Despite the age gap, both pitchers showed their talent on the mound, with Verlander displaying his veteran experience and Dollander demonstrating his potential as a rising star in the Rockies' rotation.