The Giants' acquisition of future National Baseball Hall of Famer Justin Verlander brings veteran leadership to San Francisco’s up-and-coming pitching staff for the 2025 MLB season.
Reliever Ryan Walker, in particular, is excited to learn from the certified legend who has experienced as much as one player can over 19 campaigns.
In talking to KNBR’s Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher on Friday, Walker explained how Verlander can help the Giants mentally.
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“I mean, he’s kind of what everybody dreams about in terms of a baseball career,” Walker told Murphy and Boucher. “He can answer almost any question anyone has, which will then help everybody’s mentality and performances, all that kind of stuff.
“We all know pitching is a very mental game, and Verlander’s been through every mental challenge, I can assure you that. So, learning that side of the game from him is going to be huge.”
Walker, 29, enters his third MLB season in line to be San Francisco’s closer. If anyone can pass on wisdom, it’s Verlander.
Since entering MLB as a 22-year-old in 2005, Verlander has won Rookie of the Year, an AL MVP, a Pitching Triple Crown, a trio of Cy Young Awards and two World Series titles.
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Verlander joins the Giants as a player with nothing to prove on the diamond. But as a 41-year-old, he serves as an example of duration and health, which is engaging for Walker, who is approaching his thirties.
“Yeah, he’s 41, but he’s moving, performing and training like all of us, and he’s just as good as -- you know who he is,” Walker told Murphy and Boucher. “Being able to learn how to be like that as you get older, like, for me, would be … good things to learn.
“It’s just cool to see. I’ve always kind of dreamed of being able to do that, even as the years progress, with age and how you perform … it’s going to be really cool to learn all these things from him.”
Verlander is excited to help San Francisco return to the NL playoff picture after a three-year absence. And his teammates, like Walker, are thrilled to pick the legend’s brain.