Justin Verlander found himself in the hot seat after using his wife Kate Upton‘s Zoom account for a recent press conference.
During the day a virtual press event on Monday, January 13, an NBC Sports reporter was mentioned Taylor Wirth had a tense mic moment involving Verlander, 41, but the MLB player didn’t mind.
As operating president of San Francisco Giants Buster Posey While talking to reporters, Wirth accidentally interrupted and said, “Look at Justin’s name!”
Wirth didn’t seem to know the sound wasn’t on when he pointed out that Verlander’s Zoom name was his wife’s name.
After the Giants’ vice president of media relations Matt Chisholm reminded reporters to keep their mouths shut unless asking a question, and Verlander joked about his own misfortune.
“I’ll change it, okay? I’ll change it,” Verlander joked, referring to his Zoom name.
The pitcher made good on his promise and changed his nickname to “JUSTIN VERLANDER (not Kate)” for the remainder of the press conference.
Justin Verlander
Courtesy of MLB/XWirth, meanwhile, joked about his hot mic blunder by reposting a clip from the Zoom via X. He then shared a meme of a student pointing at himself while holding a beer, confirming that 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 made their romance public in January 2013. After briefly breaking up later that year, they reunited in January 2014.

Justin Verlander
Steph Chambers/Getty ImagesAfter the former Houston Astros pitcher won the 2017 World Series with his team, he and Upton headed to Italy to get married.
The couple 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 his life changes.
“It’s been such an incredible decade! Meeting my best friend, getting married and starting a family was the most amazing gift ever!!! Nothing beats that,” he says wrote via Instagram in December 2019. “On the field… winning a championship, throwing a few no hitters and winning a few trophies along the way has been an incredible journey. The friendships that grew or started in the past decade will continue for decades to come. Truly blessed 🙏🏻🙏🏻. Bring on the next decade!!”
Since the early 2020s, Verlander’s baseball trajectory has changed more than once. In December 2022, he parted ways with the Astros after six years with the ball club. That same month, he confirmed he would be 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 a new phase of his MLB career as a pitcher for the Giants. He signed a one-year contract with the team for $15 million on January 11.