Verlander credits Kate Upton with saving him

One of this year's leading AL Cy Young candidates, Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander, had perhaps the worst year of his career in 2014.

The big righty dealt with persistent shoulder pain and gave up the most earned runs in baseball while recording the fewest strikeouts of his career since his rookie season.

As he recently told Brandon Sneed of Bleacher Report, it was Kate Upton, now his wife, who saved him.

"Who knows if I'm even here if it wasn't for her?" Verlander said.

The two met in early 2012 when Verlander was on top of his game, coming off a season in which he earned the AL Cy Young and was named Most Valuable Player. But injuries soon took their toll on the Detroit Tigers ace, and he turned to Upton for support.

"She was instrumental in me not ... like, jumping off a bridge," he said. "I was depressed and kind of just upset at the world and trying to hide my own s---. ...

"I don't like to talk to people about being hurt. As athletes, you're not supposed to. It's an excuse. ... But she was someone I could talk to. I mean, basically a therapist," he said. "Somebody I could trust with ... worries about my career. Worries about, 'Can I make it?' Worries about what I'm going through to get back."

And Upton, a model and actress who's dealt with the spotlight for most of her adult life, was equipped to help Verlander through his darkest hour.

"She was what I needed," he said.

Verlander's eventual recovery from his lingering shoulder issues came after Upton persuaded him to look outside the Tigers organization for treatment. Following the 2014 season, he consulted Annie Gow, a physical therapist who discovered the problem hadn't originated in the pitcher's shoulder but in his feet and ankles.

His return to form was briefly put on hold by a 2015 triceps strain, but he has since retaken his spot among baseball's elite starting pitchers.