Justin Verlander got an unexpected hook in his major league finale when his seven-year-old daughter came to the mound with Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch as he appeared in the final game of his long career.
After the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Brandon Lowe hit a foul popup starting the sixth inning, Hinch walked from the dugout toward the plate and pointed toward the seats of Detroit’s Comerica Park. Genevieve Verlander, wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad’s name and number, sprinted to the mound and hugged her father, who reached down to embrace her and started shaking and sobbing.
Emotional final outing
Hinch joined them for another hug before Verlander was surrounded by his Tigers teammates. The 43-year-old, a 10-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner during his 21-season major league career, left the field for the final time, holding his daughter’s hand, as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
His wife, model Kate Upton, held their one-year-old son Bellamy while joining Justin and Genevieve for a group hug in front of the Tigers dugout, and Justin high-fived teammates and doffed his cap to the crowd before descending the dugout steps with his family.
Career numbers and milestones
In all, there was a five-and-a-half-minute wait until reliever Tyler Kinley threw his first pitch.
Verlander allowed two runs and five hits in 5.1 innings with one walk and six strikeouts in his 91-pitch outing. He was making his second start of the year and first since 30 March in a season derailed by a sore hip and hamstring injury. He entered 266-159 in his career and finished with a 3.33 ERA and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth on the career list.
Legacy and final season
The Tigers took Verlander with the second overall pick in the 2004 MLB draft. He played for them from 2005 to 2017 before he was traded to the Houston Astros, where he won two World Series. He also had short spells with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants before rejoining the Tigers for his final season.
Pittsburgh’s fifth batter, 20-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin, had not been born when Verlander made his debut for the Tigers on 4 July 2005.
Verlander received a standing ovation when he headed to the bullpen to warm up, and a longer one when he returned to the dugout before the first pitch. Oscar winning actor JK Simmons, a longtime Tigers fan, announced him as part of Detroit’s starting lineup.
The Tigers won Saturday’s game 4-3 but have not qualified for this season’s playoffs.
