DETROIT -- Justin Verlander walked into the Tigers’ bullpen beyond the left-field fence at Comerica Park, took the mound and got in his between-starts session Tuesday afternoon, same as he has done hundreds of times over the past 21 years. This, however, was the last time.
Tuesday’s session was the final hurdle to prepare Verlander to make his 557th and final Major League start Saturday afternoon against the Pirates.
“Happy to take the final step and not have anything happen,” Verlander said later Tuesday. “Obviously we've gotten tantalizingly close a couple times, so we've been cautious with how we announce things this time. So to do that step, I felt really pleased about. It was like a breath of fresh air coming off the mound. Just don't do anything stupid between now and Saturday, and we should be good.”
It’ll be his first outing at Comerica Park as a Tiger since August 2017. It’ll be the moment he has dreamed about since signing with the Tigers in February. He didn’t envision it taking this long or being a swan song.
“Obviously it's been frustrating, not at all how I envisioned the year going,” said Verlander, sidelined since the end of March with left hip inflammation and more recently a left hamstring strain. “I honestly didn't envision this being the last season, but that's the way things go, and [I] slowly came to the realization through the course of the year when I just couldn't get back out there. That's been quite difficult, but I've come to terms with it and feel good about where things are at.
“And I've been so thankful -- I think thankful's probably a word you'll hear a lot here the last few days. I've been so thankful to be here back where it started, the love that these fans have shown me even when I'm not out there pitching, whether it's this stadium, visiting stadiums, around the city, it's meant so much to me and really helped me through this process to feel better about how this season has gone, to know that it means something not just to me, but to the fans too.
“I think for that reason, that's a large driving factor in this. I could've easily hung it up a month or two ago, but really pushed as hard as I possibly could, skipping a lot of steps, risking some serious injury potentially. But hey, that's what I've done my whole career. I want to be out there. I want to pitch, to do it not only for myself but for the fans.”
How long he’ll be out there is anyone’s guess. With no rehab starts and limited time to ramp up, his arm isn’t stretched out for a traditional start. But he doesn’t want to make a simple cameo appearance, and he has the comfort of knowing that this is the end and any injury can heal in retirement.
“He’s made it perfectly clear to me that he doesn’t want the one-inning sendoff,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s going to give his best shot to have as close to a normal game as he can. The competition is going to have to cooperate with that, and he’s going to have to make pitches, and we’re going to have to play defense and things like that.”
From his rookie season, Verlander talked about wanting to emulate Nolan Ryan and pitch until he’s 45. He won’t get there, but the 43-year-old can aim for an exit like Billy Chapel, the fictional Tigers pitcher in the 1999 movie “For Love of the Game” who tossed a perfect game in the final start of his career.
“I don’t just want to go out there and do one inning and come out and wave,” Verlander said. “I would like to toe the rubber one more time in a competitive way and try to win the Detroit Tigers a ballgame.”
It’s the same intense, competitive Verlander as in his prime. But he acknowledges that Saturday will be different. His family is already here, and his daughter joined him on the field after his bullpen session Tuesday. He doesn’t plan on walking into the park with his headphones on and tuning out the world Saturday morning. He wants to soak this in.
“I’m not going to throw the headphones on. I’m not going to not talk to people. That’s not what this is about,” he said. “If I still need that to keep me focused for the last game I’ll ever pitch, something’s wrong. Just looking forward to trying to balance absorbing as much as I can with also wanting to be competitive and go out there and give it everything I have -- literally.”