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This 34-year-old World Series champ and 45-year-old rapper posed backstage Saturday at NBC's Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center before "Saturday Night Live."
"So badass watching Eminem kill it last night," says Justin Verlander's Instagram post.
Eminem came to perform and Justin Verlander was a VIP audience member, along with Kate Upton, his bride of exactly two weeks. The pitcher posts this memento Sunday on Instagram, earning more than 52,000 "likes" in a day.
His souvenir also earns creative captions -- some clever, some sharp -- after we share it on Facebook. These are among more than four dozen readers' suggestions:
♦ Em looks how I feel after a 12-hour overnight shift. -- Lawrence Harrod
♦ Kate got a ring on it just before she started to lose her looks. -- Robin Johnston, Bloomfield Hills
♦ Guess which man is loving his life right now. -- Robert Wancha, River Rouge
♦ That nun with Verlander looks wasted. Are they allowed to get that way? -- Ken Kott, Birmingham
♦ Marshall needs some sunlight. -- John Lodge, Troy
♦ Beautiful bride. -- Karen Byrd, Clinton Township
♦ Marsha Mathers? Never heard of her. -- Brandon Rodriguez, Lincoln Park
♦ Kate, what happened? -- Tim Young, former Detroiter now in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
♦ Verlander: thrilled to meet Eminem. Eminem: still pissed that Verlander let the Tigers trade him to Houston. -- Nancy Bankanowicz
♦ Marshall had some shitty cosmetic surgery. -- Sean Cronin, East Lansing
♦ The little one looks like he is constipated. -- Tom Pump, Clarkston
♦ Eminem unable to control his enthusiasm while meeting Verlander. -- Bill Allemon, Harper Woods
♦ Who is that old lady with Verlander? -- Nick Smith
♦ Left: Loser. Right: Winner -- Nicholas S. Galgooul, Livonia
♦ That pic does not speak sobriety. -- Mike Beegle, Ortonville, Mich.
♦ Eminem looks stoned and Verlander looks way too excited. -- Adam Randall
♦ Two awesome talents that make all the haters jealous. -- Cyndi Craven, Detroit
-- Dave Heinrich, Hamtramck
It was Em's seventh time on SNL, Brian McCollum writes at the Detroit Free Press, adding:
Eminem was backed by a string section and pianist-vocalist Skylar Grey, who handled the parts sung on record by Beyoncé. With backing from just piano and strings early on, it was a number that demanded careful rhythmic flow from Eminem, who managed it well on the live New York stage.
Clad in all black, Em seemed to grow comfortable and empowered as the performance went on: "Walk on Water" eventually segued into 2000's "Stan" — with Grey stepping to a mic for Dido's vocal parts — before modulating into 2010's "Love the Way You Lie" and leading to a reliably tempestuous Eminem rap.
