With a girlfriend that looks like Kate Upton, it's definitely hard to focus on baseball, however that's exactly where Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander wanted to direct the narrative after leaked nude photos of himself and Upton were part of the iCloud leaks that surfaced online earlier this week.
Opening up about the leaked personal pictures of him and Upton for the first time on Tuesday, Verlander was in no mood to divulge very much about his personal life.
"My personal life is my personal life," Verlander told reporters via The Detroit Free Press prior to the Tigers 4-2 victory over their division rival Cleveland Indians. "I'm focused on baseball."
Verlander and Upton were just two of the many celebrities that had private naked photos of themselves leaked online reportedly via an iCloud hack that led to the photos being posted on an image-based internet bulletin board on Sunday night.
Apple has claimed that the leaks were not the result of a security breach, and multiple outlets have reported that the FBI is looking into the matter.
There have been reports that Upton, a model and actress, is set to take legal action while Verlander wouldn't divulge how he plans on handling the leak.
"I'm not going to comment on my personal life," the right-hander said. "I never have, and I never plan on it."
Verlander, 31, said that he will not allow this outside distraction to affect his play on the field.
"I've always been able to do that," Verlander told reporters about his ability to block out distractions. "This is my life. Baseball is my life. I'm probably more at home [on the mound] than anywhere."
Whether or not Upton has been a distraction is up for debate as Verlander, a six-time All-Star, is currently in the midst of his worst season since 2008.
The 10-year MLB veteran is 12-11 with a 4.68 ERA, 1.447 WHIP and 132 strikeouts thus far this season in a rotation that features the last three Cy Young Award winners in himself, David Price and Max Scherzer.
Verlander takes the hill again on Thursday when the Tigers and Indians continue their four-game set with Detroit looking for its fourth straight win overall and third consecutive victory against its division foe at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Verlander will have to avoid outside distractions as each game this month is huge for the Tigers. Detroit enters Wednesday with a 76-62 mark and trails the Kansas City Royals (76-61) by a half-game in the AL Central while their lead over the Seattle Mariners (74-63) in the wild-card hunt is just 1-1/2 games.
Detroit needs every win it can get between now and the end of the season and though Verlander hasn't had his normal lights-out season, they'll need the former Cy Young Award winner to avoid any distractions caused by the leaked photos.
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