Justin Verlander’s latest All-Star honor came with the kind of meaning Tigers fans had already started bracing for.
On Wednesday, MLB named Verlander the American League’s “Legend Pick,” a selection made by the Commissioner. It’s the 10th All-Star nod of his 21-year career.
Bryce Harper got the National League Legend Pick, and both players followed Clayton Kershaw, Rob Manfred’s only choice in 2025. Kershaw hadn’t announced retirement when he was selected, but Dodgers fans knew the finish line was near.
Detroit fans have been reading the same signs all season with Verlander. His All-Star spot will be ceremonial, since he’s been out with injury since April.
After his latest setback, he said, " I've always said I want to play until the wheels fall off. And I don't know, maybe they are falling off."
Then, less than 30 minutes after the announcement, Verlander made it official on Twitter and Instagram: he will retire at the end of the year.
For Tigers fans, the news lands like something they could feel coming, even if it still hurts to see it become real. Verlander is closing the book where it started, back with the team that made him. Some fans may always debate the contract, or whether bringing him back was about baseball or optics, but none of that changes the moment now in front of them: he’s headed for one last goodbye at Comerica.
The résumé is as heavy as they come. Verlander leaves with 21 seasons, 556 starts, 3,571 1/3 innings, 26 complete games, nine shutouts, 3,554 strikeouts and a 3.33 ERA. He’s logged three more seasons than fellow three-time Cy Young winners Kershaw and two more than Max Scherzer, with more than 100 additional starts than Kershaw and nearly 80 more than Scherzer.
Verlander, Kershaw and Scherzer have been the last of a certain breed, and now two of the three have stepped away.
Tigers fans knew this day was coming. That doesn’t make it any easier. The hope now is simple: one more start at Comerica before the season ends, one proper sendoff for a future Hall of Famer.
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