In 2005, Detroit called up a 22-year-old pitching prospect named Justin Verlander. He made two starts, but they did not go particularly well. The next season, he started a streak of nine years in a row with at least 30 starts. In December of 2009, the Tigers traded for another pitching prospect named Max Scherzer, who had just finished his first full season in the majors. From 2009 through 2023, they were two of the most prominent pitchers in baseball, and then last year happened, and an era ended. They were at the beginning of a new era when they started, though we did not know it yet, and
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