Justin Verlander found himself in the hot seat after using his wife Kate Upton’s Zoom account for a recent press conference.
During a virtual press event on Monday, January 13, an NBC Sports reporter named Taylor Wirth had a hot mic moment that involved Verlander, 41 — but the MLB player didn’t mind.
As San Francisco Giants president of operations Buster Posey was speaking to the reporters, Wirth accidentally interrupted saying, “Look at Justin’s name!”
Wirth didn’t appear to know he was unmuted when he pointed out that Verlander’s Zoom moniker was his wife’s name.
After the Giants’ vice president of media relationship Matt Chisholm reminded the reporters to stay muted unless they are asking a question, Verlander poked fun at his own mishap.
“I’ll change it, alright? I’ll change it,” Verlander quipped, referring to his Zoom name.
The pitcher made good on his promise, changing his moniker to “JUSTIN VERLANDER (not Kate)” for the remainder of the press conference.
Wirth, meanwhile, poked fun at his hot mic blunder by reposting a clip from the Zoom via X. He then shared a meme of a college guy pointing at himself while holding a beer, confirming he was the one who called out Verlander.
Verlander met Upton, 32, in 2012 while shooting a commercial for the Major League Baseball 2K12 video game. They went public with their romance in January 2013. After briefly splitting later that year, they reunited in January 2014.
After the former Houston Astros pitcher won the 2017 World Series with his team, he and Upton jetted off to Italy to get married.
The pair celebrated their one-year anniversary in November 2018 days before welcoming their daughter, Genevieve. The following year, Verlander reflected on the past decade and all of his life changes.
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“It’s been such an incredible decade! Meeting my best friend, getting married and starting a family has been the most amazing gift ever!!! Nothing tops that,” he wrote via Instagram in December 2019. “On the field … winning a championship, throwing a couple no hitters and winning a few awards along the way has been an incredible journey. The friendships that have grown or began this past decade will continue on for decades to come. Truly blessed 🙏🏻🙏🏻. Now bring on the next decade!!”
Since entering the 2020s, Verlander’s baseball trajectory has changed more than once. In December 2022 he said goodbye to the Astros after six years with the ball club. That same month he confirmed he was joining the 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. He signed a one-year contract with the team on January 11 for $15 million.
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