The World Series is over and the Houston Astros came out victorious against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now a certain player who had one piece of hardware missing from his mantle has now received his missing piece. Justin Verlander the former ace for the Detroit Tigers has earned a ring with the Houston Astros. The Tigers traded Verlander to the Astros in August for prospects.

The Astros were lead by Verlander in the American League Championship. According to Baseball-Reference.com Verlander, who won the ALCS MVP, pitched a five-hitter with 13 strikeouts against the New York Yankees to win the game. Verlander came in to relief game four against the yankees and helped the Astros win. Verlander had a 0.56 ERA with two wins against the Yankees in the ALCS.

The Astros started Verlander in game three of the world series where Verlander went six innings and gave three runs on two hits, Houston was still able to come out with the victory. Verlander came back in game six  of the world series and again pitched six innings only giving up two runs this time.

Verlander spent almost his whole career looking for a ring with the Tigers; unfortunately, the two times the Tigers made it to the playoffs they were beaten. In Verlander’s first full season with the Tigers they made it to the world series against the St. Louis Cardinals, where they lost seven game series, four games to one. The Tigers made it again in 2012, but they were swept in the series against the San Francisco Giants.

The Tigers traded Verlander on Sept. 1, the Tigers received prospects for their former ace. The Tigers were looking for a rebuild and needed to get rid of some big pieces of their team to begin their rebuild. The Astros were looking for a good pitcher to be the backbone of their rotation while they were making a push for the playoffs. Verlander won nine straight games with the astros, which helped guide them to the World Series.

When asked about Detroit, Verlander said to Detroit Free Press’ Anthony French, “Thank you. Thank you for everything over the years, thank you for recognizing all the hard work I put in, thank you for recognizing how hard this decision was for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Verlander has had a great career, six All Star Games, American League MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, two no-hitters, and the pitching Triple Crown. Now with a World Series ring, Verlander has taken the monkey off his back. Verlander is now a World Series champion and most of Detroit could not be happier for the former hero.