In news that comes to no surprise to anyone who's been watching, Houston Astros All-Star right-handed pitcher Justin Verlander has won the 2022 American League Cy Young Award, the Baseball Writers Association of America on MLB Network on Wednesday, November 16.

The The 39-year-old ace scored the award by receiving 30 first-place votes for 210 total points, marking his third career Cy Young Award. (He won in 2019 with the Astros and in 2011 with the Detroit Tigers.)

That distinguished trifecta makes JV — as he's affectionately known here — the 11th pitcher in Major League history to win a Cy Young Award on three different occasions. He is also the fourth Astros pitcher to win a Cy Young; he joins Mike Scott (NL,1986) and "The Rocket" Roger Clemens (NL, 2004), and lDallas Keuchel (AL, 2015).

Notably, Verlander is the first pitcher in Astros history to win the Cy Young Award twice. He battled and overcame a potentially career-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2020.

"It definitely carries a different meaning for me," Verlander said on a conference call on Wednesday night. "I will always remember this Cy Young as looking back at the growth of me as a father and as a person and the rehab and the hard work that went into the rehab ... all of that."

He added that he has not spoken to Astros owner Jim Crane regarding his contract. On November 10, Verlander opted out of his Astros deal and became a free agent. "I've kind of committed to myself that we're on this journey, and this journey has been incredible."

Verlander certainly was incredible in 2002, posting an American League-leading 18 wins and an astounding 1.75 ERA — the lowest in Astros full-season history.

Given this award and World Series hardware, his price will no doubt be high for anyone courting him. But stay or go, JV clearly posted a season Astros fans will remember forever.