Justin Verlander took the mound for the last time on Saturday and gave up two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work while striking out six. It was just the veteran right-hander’s second start of the entire season.
He was lifted from the game by his daughter Genevieve in a spectacle that, if I’m being honest, seemed to be a bit much. There were tears, if you’re into that sort of thing, and he walked off the mound into retirement.
Genevieve Verlander runs to hug her father, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander, as catcher Dillon Dingler looks on during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 26, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
The Tigers rallied in the 9th and ended up winning the game in walk-off fashion on a two-run home run off the bat of Eduardo Valencia. The win erased what would have been one more loss on Verlander’s record.
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
Even with the longer than normal mound visit, in a day and age with a focus on pace of play, and an unauthorized person on the field participating in it, it felt as if something was missing.
Justin Verlander and Kate Upton walk the carpet during the MLB Red Carpet Show at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. (Alex Trautwig/MLB)
Sure, Verlander was making his final start, but his wife Kate Upton was also retiring after more than a decade of memorable moments in Major League Baseball as a girlfriend and wife of a future Hall of Famer.
JUSTIN VERLANDER’S RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT COMES WITH A WELL-EARNED HAT TIP TO SI SWIMSUIT LEGEND KATE UPTON
On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit stepped up and gave the Verlanders a proper send-off with a look back at the model’s 2024 cover shoot.
“In honor of Justin Verlander retiring this past weekend, a look back at @kateupton ’s 2024 cover shoot💙🧡,” SI Swimsuit wrote on Instagram.
Now we can respectfully call it a career for Justin Verlander.
You can’t tell the entire story of how great he was without mentioning his bikini model wife. That’s now been done. She was there for a lot of the ups and the downs after all.
OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 19: Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros and wife Kate Upton pose for a photo with their daughter during the All-Star Red Carpet Show at L.A. Live on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) (MLB Photos via Getty Images)
He now rides off into the sunset at 43 with World Series rings, Cy Young awards, a ton in career earnings and a 34-year-old Kate Upton, who still has her fastball.
Not a bad way to head into retirement after putting together a legendary career.