“It’s good to have a guy like that,” Birdsong said. “It’s nice to bounce ideas off of him because he’s done it for so long. Hopefully all of us young guys can learn from all of his years of experience."
What can they pick up?
"Literally anything. Anything he’s done in the past. Anything he wants to do. Learn how to scout guys. Learn how to throw pitches in certain counts or what I shouldn’t throw here.”
Verlander, who turned 42 on Thursday, has quickly impressed with his willingness to be hands-on with his new teammates, as he’s frequently stayed to watch other pitchers throw their bullpen sessions and has been proactive in offering up his advice. Last week, he pulled aside pitching prospect Carson Ragsdale and chatted with him about a new slider Ragsdale has been working on.
“He has so much wisdom, so much experience, so it’s been really cool to see how he’s been wanting to pass that on and share it with the younger guys,” Ragsdale said. “Just to be able to pick his brain and talk to him and know that he’s willing to help has been really cool.”
Verlander acknowledged that he wasn’t always as open to sharing his wealth of knowledge when he was younger, but his perspective has changed now that he’s on the cusp of his 20th season in the big leagues.
“Early in my career, I was kind of like a horse with blinders on,” Verlander said after signing a one-year, $15 million deal with the Giants last month. “I was just going to do what I need to do to be successful and kind of go about my business. As I've gotten older, more mature, especially as a father, learning to communicate better, I've really felt like I've been able to take those blinders off and be more of a help to the younger guys around me. I think it's something that I'm continually working on. I get a lot of reward from that now.”
“I think he’s at a point in time in his career where he realizes that there’s a lot for him to give back,” manager Bob Melvin said.
