Verlander Breaks Down Retirement Moment, Daughter's Mound Embrace
Justin Verlander has retired after 21 seasons in Major League Baseball, closing out a career that will almost certainly end in Cooperstown. Days after throwing his final pitch, he appeared on "MLB on FOX Pregame" alongside Kevin Burkhardt, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz, making his debut as a television analyst and reflecting publicly on the decision for the first time.
Verlander said the call to retire came down to his body rather than a loss of desire. "It was pretty easy," he said. "I made my first start of the season and my leg started hurting. I've said my entire career, man, I love this game. I love giving it everything I got. I'm going to play until the wheels fall off. The arm held out great, but the leg gave out on me." His final outing saw him allow two runs over 5 ⅓ innings with six strikeouts before leaving the mound for the last time, where his daughter met him on the field for an embrace that left him in tears in front of his teammates. "It still hits me," he said. "There's so many thoughts going through your head, obviously just leading up to such an emotional weekend. Then to just be completely blindsided and look over and see my daughter running at me. It obviously hit me and it was pretty special." odds bandy
Verlander's résumé places him among the most accomplished pitchers of his generation: two World Series championships, three Cy Young Awards and an American League MVP. Yet he pointed to longevity and workload as the achievement he values most, having thrown 3,802 ⅔ innings across the regular season and postseason. "I'm most proud of the volume," he said. "I really pride myself on taking the ball and just being out there for as many pitches as the game would allow. When I look back, I always said that if I'm out there for every start the numbers fall where they may, but at least I'm doing my job." His 21-year tenure puts him in a group of just 19 pitchers in MLB history to reach that mark.
With his playing days finished, Verlander now moves into broadcasting, having already joined FOX's pregame coverage alongside fellow retired stars. His insight from the analyst desk is expected to become a regular feature of the network's MLB programming going forward.
