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Dad's Negotiating Skills Help Son Land Major League Contract
If they shoot a movie about Justin Verlander's life - years from now after he's pitched his team to victory in a World Series or two - it'll open with a bucolic scene at a southern lake.
The camera will zoom in on a 9-year-old boy and his dad skipping rocks across the water. Dad's best effort lands with a splash halfway across. Justin's flies over the water and hits the far bank.
It's a made-for-Hollywood beginning to what's now a Major League Baseball career for 21-year-old Justin, son of CWA District 2 Organizing Coordinator Richard Verlander.
"I realized right then that this kid has a special arm," Verlander said, recalling the day at the lake. "It was a long way across. I was just incredulous."
Verlander's years of union negotiating skills helped his son land a $5 million contract this fall with the Detroit Tigers, who chose Justin as their top draft choice in June. He was the second draft pick for all of baseball.
But in October, Justin's agent and the team negotiators hit a wall, leading the team to pull its offer from the table. That's when Verlander's bargaining instincts took over.
"For things to get to that point, this is where my negotiating experience tells me its time for the parties to reach out personally," he said. "Often when there's a logjam at the top in CWA negotiations, Morty (President Bahr) will get involved. I figured if Morty can call the CEO, I can call the Tigers."
Verlander, former president of CWA Local 2201, called the scouting director and began negotiating with the team himself. Managers told him they'd never had a parent intervene like he did, but he said, "I don't think it's too often the case that a parent is fortunate enough to have the background to jump in and say, 'This is a train wreck. Let's see what we can do to get things moving again.'"
Even though Justin will start in the minors at a class-A team - likely the Lakeland Tigers in Florida - his dad made sure he had a major league contract. That means that in addition to the healthy pay and bonus package, he's covered under baseball's collective bargaining agreement, unlike other minor league players. He's also eligible for salary arbitration after three years. By then he's expected to be playing in the majors.
Justin, whose fastball has been clocked at 101 mph, got a full college scholarship to Old Dominion in his home state of Virginia as a pitcher and set a conference record for strikeouts. He played on the equivalent of the U.S. Olympic Team before it went professional, helping his team to a silver medal in the Pan Am games in 2003.
"He's really been blessed," Verlander said. "There are a lot of guys with talent, but Justin's worked very hard and it's all come together for him."
None of it's gone to Justin's head, and Verlander said he can't imagine it will. He said he's not even sure if his son understands just how good a player he is.
"What I'm proudest of most is the kind of young man he's turned into. He's very humble," he said. "I thought it was a real compliment when one of the scouts who's been around Justin for the past few years said, 'You know, the only difference between Justin now and Justin 10 years from now is that he'll be driving a nicer car.'"
The camera will zoom in on a 9-year-old boy and his dad skipping rocks across the water. Dad's best effort lands with a splash halfway across. Justin's flies over the water and hits the far bank.
It's a made-for-Hollywood beginning to what's now a Major League Baseball career for 21-year-old Justin, son of CWA District 2 Organizing Coordinator Richard Verlander.
"I realized right then that this kid has a special arm," Verlander said, recalling the day at the lake. "It was a long way across. I was just incredulous."
Verlander's years of union negotiating skills helped his son land a $5 million contract this fall with the Detroit Tigers, who chose Justin as their top draft choice in June. He was the second draft pick for all of baseball.
But in October, Justin's agent and the team negotiators hit a wall, leading the team to pull its offer from the table. That's when Verlander's bargaining instincts took over.
"For things to get to that point, this is where my negotiating experience tells me its time for the parties to reach out personally," he said. "Often when there's a logjam at the top in CWA negotiations, Morty (President Bahr) will get involved. I figured if Morty can call the CEO, I can call the Tigers."
Verlander, former president of CWA Local 2201, called the scouting director and began negotiating with the team himself. Managers told him they'd never had a parent intervene like he did, but he said, "I don't think it's too often the case that a parent is fortunate enough to have the background to jump in and say, 'This is a train wreck. Let's see what we can do to get things moving again.'"
Even though Justin will start in the minors at a class-A team - likely the Lakeland Tigers in Florida - his dad made sure he had a major league contract. That means that in addition to the healthy pay and bonus package, he's covered under baseball's collective bargaining agreement, unlike other minor league players. He's also eligible for salary arbitration after three years. By then he's expected to be playing in the majors.
Justin, whose fastball has been clocked at 101 mph, got a full college scholarship to Old Dominion in his home state of Virginia as a pitcher and set a conference record for strikeouts. He played on the equivalent of the U.S. Olympic Team before it went professional, helping his team to a silver medal in the Pan Am games in 2003.
"He's really been blessed," Verlander said. "There are a lot of guys with talent, but Justin's worked very hard and it's all come together for him."
None of it's gone to Justin's head, and Verlander said he can't imagine it will. He said he's not even sure if his son understands just how good a player he is.
"What I'm proudest of most is the kind of young man he's turned into. He's very humble," he said. "I thought it was a real compliment when one of the scouts who's been around Justin for the past few years said, 'You know, the only difference between Justin now and Justin 10 years from now is that he'll be driving a nicer car.'"