The Detroit Tigers have set aside the final home stand of the season to send off Justin Verlander, announcing a two-day celebration at Comerica Park on September 25 and 26 as the 43-year-old right-hander closes out a 21-season, 22-year career. The festivities will coincide with a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and tickets for the two games start at $15. Whether Verlander himself will actually take the mound during the tribute remains an open question — he has not made a start at Comerica Park at all in 2026.
According to The Detroit News, Friday's game will include a limited-supply Verlander bobblehead giveaway, and fans attending either Friday or Saturday's game will receive Verlander cheer cards. The paper reports that additional celebration plans have not yet been announced, though they reportedly may include gifts, video tributes and special guests. Verlander announced in July that he would retire at the end of the 2026 season, but he continues to hope he can pitch again before it's over — a hope complicated by an early-season hip injury that has not fully healed, which landed him on the injured list after just one start in 2026.
A Career That Started and Ended in Detroit
Verlander's story is bookended by the Tigers, who drafted him and watched him spend most of his career in Detroit — from 2005 through 2017, and again this season. He led the club to World Series appearances in 2006 and 2012, won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006, and captured both the Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player award in 2011. That rare Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP combination puts him in exclusive company: the Baseball Writers' Association of America notes he is one of only two players in MLB history to win all three, alongside Brooklyn Dodgers legend Don Newcombe.
Detroit traded Verlander to the Houston Astros in August 2017, where he added two World Series titles, in 2017 and 2022, to his résumé and was named American League Championship Series MVP during Houston's 2017 pennant run, according to Field Level Media. He also pitched for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants before Detroit signed him to a one-year contract over the winter to bring him home for a final chapter. That deal, as CBS News Detroit reported, paid Verlander a $2 million base salary in 2026 with $11 million deferred into $1.1 million installments paid every June 30 from 2030 through 2039 — part of a $128 million commitment to free-agent starters Verlander and Framber Valdez that deferred $31 million total to help the Tigers manage their luxury-tax payroll while pairing veteran leadership with reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
An All-Time Résumé Nearing Cooperstown
Verlander enters the final stretch of his career ranking eighth on MLB's all-time strikeout list with 3,554 career strikeouts, having passed Hall of Famers Walter Johnson and Gaylord Perry during his 2025 season, per MLB.com. He entered 2026 as the active leader among MLB pitchers in wins with 266, complete games with 26, games started with 555, and innings pitched with 3,567 1/3, the same Field Level Media report notes. He also holds the MLB record for career postseason strikeouts, with 244 across 38 playoff games. Verlander is one of six pitchers in MLB history to throw at least three career no-hitters, having done so twice for Detroit in 2007 and 2011 and once for Houston in 2019, per MLB.com.
Commissioner Rob Manfred made Verlander an honorary All-Star this year, naming him to his 10th career All-Star team as an American League Legend Pick for the 2026 game in Philadelphia — a provision that lets the commissioner honor active future Hall of Famers at the Midsummer Classic, according to Fox Sports. That appointment, Fox Sports reported, served as the backdrop for Verlander's retirement announcement and underscored his standing as the oldest active player in MLB this season. Per Encyclopædia Britannica, Verlander will become eligible for first-time induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2032, five years after his retirement takes effect, in line with the Hall's standard waiting period.
Rest of the Roster Presses On
While the tribute weekend looms, the Tigers still have games to play. Keider Montero beat the Cleveland Guardians on August 13 at Comerica Park, recording 27 outs without allowing a strikeout or a run while holding hitters to a .208/.259/.340 slash line across 28 appearances, including 22 starts, with a 0.993 WHIP. Andrew Sears, who weighs 200 pounds and throws 93-94 mph four-seam fastballs and sliders, is set to make his first traditional start in his third major-league game; he has held left-handed Double-A and Triple-A hitters to a .178/.265/.294 slash line so far. Detroit will also face the Guardians in a four-game series at Progressive Field, where Cleveland is expected to deploy a bullpen game.
Detroit's rotation mix currently includes Parker Messick at 11-8 with a 2.46 ERA, Gavin Williams at 13-7 with a 3.81 ERA, Jackson Jobe at 1-2 with a 4.63 ERA, and Montero at 9-8 with a 3.24 ERA, while Framber Valdez sits at 8-10 with a 4.36 ERA. Hoodline previously reported on Verlander's return to the Tigers when he signed his comeback deal ahead of spring training, and later covered the Opening Day atmosphere that welcomed him back to the active roster. Whether he takes the mound one more time before the Sept. 25-26 farewell remains unresolved, but the Tigers have made clear they intend to celebrate his full career — the Detroit chapter and everything that came after — regardless of how those final innings play out.
