justin verlander is in my hall of famer collection

justin verlander is a member of the 3,000 strikeout club, which means he is also a member of my hall of famer collection. several months ago, i added this card to represent his membership:

that's a 2007 upper deck goudey sport royalty autograph card. here's the back:

verlander doesn't have many on-card autographs to choose from, so i went with this one even though it is not standard sized. maybe after he retires he will start signing cards and i will be able to add a shinier card for my collection, but it better be as a tiger because i don't want to see him as an astro.

verlander is currently second among active players in career strikeouts, trailing his former teammate max scherzer by 25. his 3,342 strikeouts are good enough for 12th all-time (tied with phil niekro), and i would bet he passes niekro, scherzer and greg maddux on the all-time leader board before he is done. verlander is also a member of a very small group of pitchers who have won the rookie of the year, most valuable player, and cy young awards (hello, don newcombe), and verlander has won the latter three times. 

he is definitely one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history and i had hoped to see him as a met here in the twin cities this season. unfortunately for me, he was traded back to houston before the mets made it to town and after the astros had visited. maybe i will be able to see him pitch in person in 2024.

as a reminder, you can see verlander and the other members of my hall of famer collection here!