In pictures: Kate Upton and daughter Genevieve were rooting for Justin Verlander at All-Star ace's introductory press conference as a Met
Justin Verlander was recently introduced as a Met at a press conference this past week. His wife Kate Upton and daughter Genevieve were in attendance, cheering him on as he spoke to the media and the assembled New York Mets fans.
Justin Verlander, 39, has had a long career in the MLB, currently stretching for 18 years. He has had multiple World Series wins as well as individual accolades spread out for the two teams he has represented, the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros. Verlander is the only player with multiple World Series championships, an MVP Award, a Rookie of the Year Award, and three Cy Young Awards.
After being sidelined for most of 2020 and the entirety of 2021 with Tommy John surgery, Verlander made a return to the Astros' lineup this season. He was one of the key members who led the Houston side to another World Series win. At the conclusion of the season, Justin Verlander chose to go into free agency and was signed by the New York Mets for a 2-year, $86.7 million contract.
“I took a leap of faith, and here we are a few weeks later,” Verlander said during the press conference. “And I think that leap of faith has paid off and obviously the surrounding cast, the players that this organization has brought in are nothing short of incredible and I cannot wait to be part of something amazing.”
His family was smiling and grinning throughout the press conference. The couple and their popularity will add a lot of star power to the already rich New York Mets lineup.
Kate Upton was in attendance for Justin Verlander's introduction as a Met, along with their daughter Genevieve. https://t.co/3xJIkE5DOK
Justin Verlander talks of the Steve Cohen influence at the press conference
It is not news to anyone that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is on a spending spree in the offseason, breaking the bank to acquire the biggest free agents and re-signing key players from the existing Mets team. After being introduced to the media and fans, Justin Verlander spoke about how he and Steve Cohen had the same idea for the future of the organization.
“I had a lovely conversation with Steve (Cohen) and we didn’t really talk about baseball. It gave me a really positive vibe for his vision of what this franchise is and he wants to make this franchise amazing. I wanted to be a part of this vision moving forward and obviously, this organization took a giant step forward last year and they had a great season. I think it’s only going to continue in the right direction.”
The Mets had a 101-win season in 2022 but will be looking to improve on the early playoff exit they had and have a deep run culminating in a World Series appearance.