For the 595th and final time, Justin Verlander toed a major-league mound Saturday afternoon. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer, returning from the hip and hamstring injuries that had kept him on the shelf since March 30, made a farewell appearance with the Tigers, the team that originally drafted him back in 2004, at Comerica Park in Detroit.
"We've been through a lot over the years," Verlander said to Tigers fan during a pregame ceremony on Friday (via MLB.com). "Your love and support has meant the world to me. That love and support has solidified for me that I am, and always will be, a Detroit Tiger."
Verlander was cheered while warming up in the bullpen, when he walked across the field to the dugout, and again when he took the mound for the first inning. He threw a first-pitch fastball -- 92 mph -- that Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Ryan O'Hearn fouled off to begin the game. O'Hearn, Brandon Lowe, and Bryan Reynolds all hit routine popups/fly balls in a 13-pitch 1-2-3 first inning.
"There's no script. I want to go as long as I can," Verlander said going into Saturday's game (via MLB.com). "I skipped about a month's worth of rehab to be able to do this, but I also don't want to just go out there and throw 20 pitches. I think everybody feels comfortable with 20 pitches, and then after that, we're kind of in a 'who knows' zone."
Verlander got Oneil Cruz to chase a breaking ball below the zone for career strikeout No. 3,556 to open the second inning. It was the first of six strikeouts on Verlander's day. His final strikeout victim was Ronny Simon, who swung through a fastball for the second out of the fifth inning. Simon tried to bunt for a hit earlier in the at-bat, so Verlander buzzed him with a high fastball.
Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh's shortstop and No. 5 hitter, had not yet been born when Verlander made his MLB debut on July 4, 2005. Griffin was born more than nine months later on April 24, 2006. He lined a single to center in his first at-bat of the afternoon, then got thrown out trying to steal second base by catcher Dillon Dingler.
"I just tried to let things play out the way they were going to," Verlander said after the game. "I had no clue how my game was gonna go and how I was gonna feel, so I was hoping I would be able to go long enough to get a decision. I think to go through five was a hope of mine."
All told, Verlander went 5 ⅓ innings and threw 91 pitches in his farewell start Saturday, allowing two runs on solo home runs. After Lowe popped up behind the plate to open the sixth, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and Verlander's daughter, Genevieve, came out to remove him from the game. The Comerica Park crowd gave Verlander a standing ovation as he left the field for the final time.
"The way it went, with Genevieve running out, I had no clue," Verlander said. "Was totally blindsided. It hit me like a ton of bricks. That was amazing. I was sobbing ... Walking off the field with my family -- we talked a lot about how my life has changed and what my family means to me, what I'm looking forward to most in retirement, to be able to walk off the field with them, I can't think of a better ending."
The Tigers sent Verlander out in style. After trailing 3-1 going into the ninth inning, Detroit rallied to score three runs to win the game, with the final two coming on rookie Eduardo Valencia's two-run walk-off home run (DET 4, PIT 3).
"Oh yeah, there's no way Justin Verlander gets a loss in his last game," Hinch said after the game. "Valencia, right guy, right time, and we go off to a pretty good night."
Verlander announced his intention to retire after this season back in July, citing his injuries and the belief he can no longer compete "at the level I expect of myself." That announcement came a few weeks after Verlander suffered the hamstring injury while throwing a bullpen session on June 17. He was expected to rejoin the Tigers that weekend.
"This season has challenged me in ways I haven't experienced before, both physically and mentally," Verlander said in July. "... Over the last several months, I've realized that time has come. While I'm fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I've decided this will be my last. It's fitting that I get to finish where it all started -- with the Detroit Tigers."
Verlander, 43, played his first 13 seasons with the Tigers from 2005-17, winning a Rookie of the Year (2006), Cy Young (2011), and MVP (2011) all the way. He was traded to the Houston Astros at the 2017 deadline and went from the Astros (2017-22) to the New York Mets (2022) back to the Astros (2022-24) to the San Francisco Giants (2025) and then back to the Tigers (2026).
In 21 big-league seasons, Verlander went 266-159 with 3,561 strikeouts and a 3.33 ERA. He is 37th all-time in wins, eighth all-time in strikeouts, and 29th in starts. Verlander made 557 career appearances during the regular season, all starts, plus 38 appearances (37 starts) in the postseason. He is a two-time World Series champion (2017 and 2022 Astros).
Verlander is this generation's greatest pitcher. He retires with three Cy Youngs (2011, 2019, 2022), an MVP (2011), and 10 All-Star Game selections. In addition to the three Cy Youngs, Verlander has three second-place finishes in the voting (2012, 2016, 2018) and three other top-five finishes in the voting. He also threw three no-hitters.
The Tigers are celebrating Verlander's career this weekend with giveaways, on-field ceremonies, and other activities throughout the ballpark.
