By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Robin Buckson, The Detroit News
Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander tossed the last start of his baseball career on Saturday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Academy Award winner JK Simmons returns to Detroit and serves as the MC for the game. Simmons introduced Verlander in his final game. Verlander and his daughter, Genevieve, have a beautiful connection. The moments shared between Verlander and his daughter brought many smiles.
When she came out of the dugout with manager AJ Hinch, it would make anyone shed tears of joy. An emotional Verlander took off his cap to the fans as he got a standing ovation.
What a tremendous career for the future Hall of Famer. Verlander gave fans 21 seasons of sensational pitching as a Tiger and a Houston Astros.
In terms of his performance, Verlander had a great changeup and breaking ball working in his favor. Verlander finished the game with six strikeouts, allowing two earned runs in five innings.
Designated hitter Eduardo Valencia hit a walk-off two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the ninth. The Tigers won the game 4-3.
“I had no clue how my game was going to go and how I was going to feel,” Verlander said after the game. “I was hoping I was able to go long enough to get a decision; I think going through five was a hope of mine. The way it went with Genevieve running out, I mean, I had no clue. I was totally blindsided, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. That was amazing. I was sobbing. What I’m looking forward to most about retirement is being able to walk off the field with them. I can’t think of a better ending.”
- Win-loss: 266-159
- Starts: 557
- Complete games: 26
- Shutouts: 9
- Strikeouts: 3,660
- ERA: 3.33
- WHIP: 1.136
- Innings: 3,576.2
- Cy Youngs: 3
- MVPs: 1
- No-hitters: 3
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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