Justin Verlander he found himself in the hot seat after taking advantage of his wife Kate UptonZoom account for a recent press conference.
During virtual press event on Monday, January 13, an NBC Sports reporter named Taylor Wirth had a heated mic moment involving Verlander, 41 — but the MLB player didn’t mind.
As San Francisco Giants president of operations Buster Posey was talking to reporters, Wirth accidentally interrupted him by saying, “Look at Justin’s name!”
Wirth didn’t seem to know his sound was on when he pointed out that Verlander’s Zoom nickname was his wife’s name.
After the Giants’ vice president of media relations Matt Chisholm reminded reporters to remain silent unless they asked questions, Verlander mocked his own misfortune.
“I’ll change that, okay? I’ll change that,” Verlander joked, referring to his Zoom name.
The pitcher made good on his promise, changing his nickname to “JUSTIN VERLANDER (not Kate)” by the end of the press conference.
Justin Verlander
Courtesy of MLB/XWirth, meanwhile, joked about his hot mic blunder by reposting the Zoom clip via X. He then shared a meme of a college guy pointing at himself while holding a beer, confirming that he was the one who called out Verlander.
Verlander met Upton, 32, in 2012 while filming a commercial for The Major League Baseball 2K12 video game. They left the public with its romance in January 2013. After briefly splitting up later that year, they reunited in January 2014.
Justin Verlander
Steph Chambers/Getty ImagesAfter the former Houston Astros pitcher won the 2017 World Series with his team, he and Upton flew to Italy to get married.
The couple celebrated their anniversary a few days earlier in November 2018 welcoming his daughterGenevieve. The following year, Verlander reflected on the past decade and all the changes in his life.
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“It’s been such an amazing decade! Meeting my best friend, getting married and starting a family was the most amazing gift ever!!! Nothing is above that,” he said she wrote via Instagram in December 2019. “On the field … winning a championship, throwing some strikes and winning a few awards along the way has been an incredible journey. Friendships that have grown or started in the past decade will continue for decades to come. Truly blessed 🙏🏻🙏🏻. Now bring on the next decade!!”
Since entering the 2020s, Verlander’s baseball trajectory changed more than once. In December 2022, he said goodbye to the Astros after six years with the ball club. In the same month, he confirmed that he was joining New York Mets for the 2023 season, but by August of that year he was back with the Astros.
Earlier this month, Verlander entered another new phase of his MLB career as a pitcher for the Giants. On January 11, he signed a one-year contract with the team for $15 million.