Verlander reaches his finale with stats one can only dream of

Justin Verlander has compiled a first-ballot Hall of Fame resume over the course of a storied career. With his final start against the Pirates on Saturday, it’s a perfect time to recount the many ways in which his career has been special.

Verlander made his MLB debut on July 4, 2005, at 22 years and 134 days old. He was 43 years and 218 days old as he took the mound for the final time.

In between, he racked up 3,554 strikeouts in 3,571 1/3 innings across 556 starts. He won two World Series, three Cy Young Awards, an MVP and Rookie of the Year. And so much more.

Here’s a look at 15 stats and facts from Verlander's career.

The numbers

• Verlander has struck out 3,554 batters, as noted above. That ranks eighth in MLB history. The annals of this great game begin in 1876, and just seven individuals have totaled more strikeouts than Verlander. Think about how remarkable that is.

• He made one relief appearance in the 2017 postseason, but Verlander’s entire regular-season career was as a starter. He will finish with 557 career games, all starts. That’s the second-most appearances in MLB history by a pitcher to exclusively pitch as a starter. Only Tom Glavine had more, with 682 games, all starts. No other pitcher has finished a career with even 350 games all as a starter.

• Justin Verlander's top moments

• Verlander is one of nine pitchers in MLB history with at least nine 200-strikeout seasons, along with Nolan Ryan (15), Randy Johnson (13), Roger Clemens (12), Tom Seaver (10), Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Pedro Martínez and Bob Gibson. He struck out 300 batters in 2019, the most recent time anyone reached that mark in a season (Gerrit Cole also did it in '19 with 326). Verlander is one of 19 pitchers with at least one 300-strikeout season since 1900, another select group.

• Speaking of that 2019 season, Verlander finished with a 0.80 WHIP that year, the second-lowest in a qualified season in the live-ball era (1920), behind only Martínez’s 0.74 in 2000. While that was Verlander’s lowest mark, he had an 0.90 WHIP in 2018 and 0.83 in 2022. His three seasons with at least 150 innings and a sub-0.91 WHIP are the most all time.

• Don’t worry, there’s an ERA record, too. When he won his third Cy Young Award in 2022, Verlander had a 1.75 ERA. In his age-39 season, he became the oldest pitcher with a sub-1.80 ERA in even 100 innings (ER official since 1913). He did it with 175 innings.

• A moment for the velocity. These days, when we think high-velocity starters, we think of Jacob Misiorowski. But in the early years of pitch tracking, which began in 2008, it was Verlander and then everyone else. From 2008-11, including the postseason, he threw 225 pitches of at least 100 mph. Only one other starting pitcher had even 30 100-plus mph pitches in that span -- Ubaldo Jimenez (95).

The no-hitters

• When you throw three, the feats get their own section. Verlander no-hit the Brewers on June 12, 2007, and the Blue Jays twice in Toronto, on May 7, 2011, and Sept. 1, 2019. He’s one of just six pitchers in MLB history to throw at least three no-hitters, along with Larry Corcoran, Cy Young, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax and Ryan.

• The eight years, three months and 26 days between Verlander’s last two no-hitters represent the second-longest gap in MLB history -- for context, that’s among 35 pitchers who’ve thrown at least two no-hitter. Johnson has the longest gap, at 13 years, 11 months and 17 days.

• Verlander is one of just three pitchers with multiple no-hitters against the same team. Addie Joss no-hit the White Sox in 1908 and 1910, and Tim Lincecum no-hit the Padres in 2013 and 2014. Verlander is the only pitcher with multiple no-hitters on the road at the same opponent.

Awards

• Verlander is one of the most decorated players in the history of the BBWAA Awards, which include MVP (established 1931), Rookie of the Year (1947) and Cy Young (1956) for players. He won them all. Verlander is one of two players to win Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young in his career, along with Don Newcombe.

• But he doesn’t have only three of these awards, Verlander has five, having claimed a Cy Young thrice. He’s one of five players to win at least five career BBWAA Awards, along with Roger Clemens (eight), Barry Bonds (seven), Johnson and Shohei Ohtani.

• Verlander won both Cy Young and MVP in 2011. He’s one of 11 players to win both in a season or career, though all claimed MVP honors in the same year as a Cy Young. The only pitcher to do this since Verlander was Clayton Kershaw in 2014. The others: Dennis Eckersley, Clemens, Willie Hernandez, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Gibson, Denny McLain, Koufax and Newcombe.

• He’s also one of 11 to win at least three Cy Young Awards. Verlander is on that list with Clemens (seven), Johnson (five), Steve Carlton (four), Greg Maddux (four), Kershaw, Koufax, Martínez, Jim Palmer, Max Scherzer and Tom Seaver.

• Verlander’s 2011 and 2022 Cy Youngs were both unanimous. He’s one of six pitchers with multiple unanimous Cy Young Awards, along with Koufax (three), Maddux, Clemens, Martínez and Johan Santana.

• Verlander did not pitch in 2021 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, before winning Cy Young in 2022. He became the first pitcher to win Cy Young after throwing zero MLB innings the year prior. The previous fewest innings were 17 2/3, by Fernando Valenzuela in 1980 before becoming the only rookie Cy Young winner in 1981.