Verlander feeling nostalgic heading into final All-Star Game

DETROIT -- Justin Verlander has had a long and varied history with All-Star Games.

His Midsummer Classic debut in 2007 saw a 24-year-old hurler, fresh off a Rookie of the Year season, pitching for his manager, Jim Leyland, in San Francisco.

His first All-Star start in 2012 turned into a four-hit, five-run inning when teammate Prince Fielder talked him into trying to throw 100 miles per hour (in fairness, it was a rarer feat at the time).

His next All-Star start in 2019 saw him strike out future teammate Javier Báez and Freddie Freeman while throwing almost entirely fastballs.

As he prepares for one last All-Star appearance next week in Philadelphia, he’ll be in a rare spot for him: He’ll be a spectator and a dad. And he’s just fine with that.

“Very much so,” Verlander said when asked if he’s looking forward to it. “I have my son now also [1-year-old Bellamy Brooks Verlander], so it’ll be great. I mean, he won’t remember it, but I’ll have some pictures with him. And then getting to go with Kevin [McGonigle], who could be my son, age-wise. We’ve created a pretty good little relationship. We give each other a hard time, which is great.”

The timing of Verlander’s retirement announcement alongside his selection to the American League All-Star team as a Legend Pick by Commissioner Rob Manfred was not a coincidence. Verlander had been thinking about making this his final season for a few weeks, ever since a hamstring strain halted his expected return from the injured list. When the Commissioner’s Office told him about the All-Star idea, he let them know about his potential plans.

“The Commissioner has known for a little bit that this is probably going to be it for me,” Verlander said, “so I think it made the most sense for me with the announcement of the Legend Pick to go ahead and express why that’s happening, so I don’t have to deal with a ton of questions: Are you [retiring]? Are you not?

“I thought it was just a better decision to paint a clear picture of why I’m there.”

The hamstring injury will keep him from pitching in the game, but it won’t keep him from enjoying it. He wants to take in the events with family. He wants to live the All-Star experience again vicariously through friends and teammates, particularly McGonigle and catcher Dillon Dingler, two Tigers going for the first time.

“I think one of the most enjoyments I get out of baseball, especially once you’ve been around for a long time, is seeing guys make their debut, see them get their first hit,” said Verlander, who was among those applauding Eduardo Valencia’s first Major League homer in the dugout Thursday night. “So to experience an All-Star Game with those guys for the first time, I think that’s invigorating for me.

“Not that I won’t enjoy it myself; I absolutely will. But you kind of feed off that energy and excitement that they have. It takes you right back to my first All-Star Game in San Francisco, and the people that were in the room, and the names and the jerseys. It’s going to take me right back there, so yeah, that’s something I’m definitely looking forward to.”

Will he have advice for them?

“No, no, no,” Verlander said. “I haven’t had time to even … I don’t even know what the advice is anymore. It’s just like: ‘You got a suit? Yeah? OK, good.’

“It’s like the old man advice: Oh, time goes fast, enjoy it. And everybody in here who’s older is in agreement like, ‘God, it really does.’ But as a kid, it’s like, ‘OK, yeah, sure, man. I’ll be here 15 times, don’t worry.’ And you might. But, still, enjoy it.”