Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander stays current on his team’s transactions and often welcomes his new teammates with Twitter well-wishes. But it got a bit awkward Wednesday.
The Tigers agreed to a minor-league deal with free-agent utility man Jordany Valdespin. No big deal, right?
Wrong.
Back in spring training of 2013, Verlander hit Valdespin in a very awkward place with a 94-mph fastball on a failed bunt attempt. Valdespin admitted he wasn’t wearing a cup and vowed to do so going forward. Although there are no hard feelings between the players, Valdespin obviously remembers what happened that March.