'That's my girl': Verlander daddy-daughter duo shares unforgettable first pitch

DETROIT -- The Tigers celebrated Justin Verlander’s incredible pitching career with an emotional ceremony Friday night, a day before he takes the mound one last time to face the Pirates. But the highlight of the ceremony arguably was Verlander as a catcher, getting behind the plate for the ceremonial first pitch from his 7-year-old daughter Genevieve. Not surprisingly, she was prepared.

“It’s been awesome. We’ve been practicing,” Verlander said beforehand. “She’s all pumped up about it. We actually came out here to the field and practiced off the mound one day. I asked her, ‘Where do you want to go? You want to go to the mound?' And she's like, ‘The mound.’ I’m like, 'That's my girl.'

“She's been really excited. At home, she wants to grab a baseball and go up to play catch with me, which is the first time this has happened. I don't push on her at all, so to have her want to go play catch in the backyard has been awesome, and she's glowing about it.”

If Verlander keeps throwing after Saturday, it’ll be for playing catch with her.

“She's got to get better at catching,” Verlander said. “Right now, she's getting good at throwing. She's not so good at catching. I’ve got to get her good enough that I can start letting it go a little bit.”