Justin Verlander’s last start at Comerica Park was always going to draw the spotlight. Detroit had built Saturday around the end of a 21-season run, with the Tigers sending one of the most familiar arms in franchise history into what became his final Major League appearance against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But Verlander wasn’t the only longtime baseball figure closing the book in Detroit.
Behind the plate was Laz Diaz, a 63-year-old umpire whose final weekend in the majors lined up with Verlander’s farewell. According to the live game listing from Yahoo Sports, Saturday marked Diaz’s last game behind home plate, with his expected final assignment coming Sunday. He was one of seven veteran umpires who accepted buyouts and planned to retire after the 2026 campaign.
That meant two careers were reaching the finish line at the same ballpark, in the same game, for very different reasons.
Diaz’s road through baseball began at Tiger Stadium in 1995, when he made his Major League debut in Detroit before becoming a full-time umpire in 1999. From there, he worked three World Series and a string of big-stage moments, including Barry Bonds’ 756th home run and the first Field of Dreams Game.
His tie to Verlander ran deeper than Saturday’s assignment. Diaz was also the home-plate umpire for Verlander’s first postseason start, the 2006 American League Division Series game against the New York Yankees.
Detroit won that one 4-3 at Yankee Stadium, and the Tigers’ run carried all the way to the World Series. Nearly 20 years later, Diaz was once again behind the plate as Verlander took the mound for the final time.
The contrast in how the two men approached their exits was hard to miss. Verlander’s final days were framed by celebration and gratitude. Diaz, by comparison, was blunt about what he was leaving behind.
In an interview with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Diaz gave a sharp view of the modern job and the way umpires are treated.
"It’s nasty," Diaz said while discussing the growing criticism directed toward umpires.
He cited video review, public umpire evaluations, technological changes, and relentless scrutiny as reasons the work has become less appealing. Diaz also stood up for Angel Hernandez and CB Bucknor, saying the attention around missed calls had turned overwhelmingly negative.
"There are a lot of people I’m going to miss, and I made a lot of friends, but what I won’t miss is the game," Diaz said. "Not one bit."
His comments landed with extra force in the first season of MLB’s automated ball-strike challenge system, which still leaves the initial call to umpires but allows players to challenge selected pitches for review. That setup has only intensified the attention on every strike and every miss.
Diaz also told younger umpires that if they can’t enjoy the job, they should think hard about whether it’s worth chasing. Even with that harsh outlook, he still called his career a blessing.
A Reuters report on Diaz’s retirement described a veteran who valued the people and the moments, even as he rejected where the sport has gone.
Verlander’s goodbye was about celebration. Diaz’s was about pressure, criticism, and a game he says he will not miss. Detroit ended up hosting both farewells at once, though only one of the two men sounded eager to keep watching from a distance.
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