Saturday, September 26, 2026 — one of the greatest pitchers of his generation said goodbye where it all started.
Justin Verlander made the final start of his 21-year career on Saturday at Comerica Park against the Pirates. At 43, he went 5⅓ innings, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk. It was the 557th start of his major league career.
The Race Against the Clock
It almost didn’t happen. Verlander announced in July that 2026 would be his last season, but he spent nearly all of it on the injured list. His only start before Saturday came on March 30; left hip and hamstring problems sidelined him after that.
He skipped a rehab assignment and built up through bullpen sessions and a one-inning simulated game in Chicago. He could have stopped months ago, he admitted. What kept him going was the chance to pitch one last time in front of a home crowd.
He didn’t want a ceremonial 20-pitch appearance, either. “There’s no script,” he said before the game, leaving the decision on when to come out to A.J. Hinch. He gave Detroit more than five innings.
A Detroit Farewell
The goodbye began Friday. Family, Hinch, longtime catcher Alex Avila and teammates gathered for a pregame ceremony, where former pitching coach Jeff Jones and former teammate Brandon Inge presented gifts. Verlander thanked the Ilitch family, the late Al Kaline, Avila, Don Kelly and Jim Leyland, and told fans their support made him a Detroit Tiger for life. His daughter Genevieve threw the ceremonial first pitch — to her father.
The Career
The numbers belong in Cooperstown: more than 3,500 strikeouts, over 3,570 innings, three Cy Young Awards, an MVP, Rookie of the Year, two World Series titles with Houston and three no-hitters. He pitched in nine World Series and logged 226 postseason innings.
Few pitchers have aged like him. He won Cy Youngs a decade apart, came back from Tommy John surgery in his late 30s and was still taking the ball at 43.
The Read
Verlander’s last season was mostly spent on the injured list, but it ended the way he wanted: on the mound in Detroit, pitching deep into a game. The next stop is a Hall of Fame plaque. Saturday was a fitting final chapter before it.
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