{"id":7476,"date":"2026-07-15T04:34:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T04:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7476"},"modified":"2026-07-15T04:34:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T04:34:27","slug":"tigers-star-justin-verlander-pumps-up-american-league-in-his-final-all-star-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7476","title":{"rendered":"Tigers star Justin Verlander pumps up American League in his final All-Star Game"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Detroit Tigers\u2019 Justin Verlander and Kate Upton pose with their kids on the red carpet for the MLB baseball All-Star game Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo\/Chris Szagola)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Justin Verlander used his fingers in this trip to Philadelphia simply to tip his cap toward applauding All-Star Game fans.<\/p>

Read more Rays slugger Junior Caminero feels fortunate left hand not broken after he was hit in All-Star Game<\/a><\/p>\n

He once playfully flipped off Phillies fans when his Houston Astros were in Philadelphia for the 2022 World Series.<\/p>\n

There was only mutual respect in this game.<\/p>\n

The 43-year-old Verlander was one of the few All-Stars on Tuesday night to receive a warm ovation in Philadelphia from a crowd that reveled in jeering just about any player who was not in a Phillies uniform.<\/p>\n

Verlander is set to retire<\/a> at the end of the season to cap a career that includes three Cy Young Awards.<\/p>\n

Up first, one more Midsummer Classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn his 10th and final All-Star Game, please welcome to Philadelphia, Justin Verlander,\u201d the public address announcer noted.<\/p>\n

Verlander didn\u2019t totally sit out the American League’s 4-0 win<\/a> over the National League on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Toronto manager John Schneider asked Verlander to address the team and share thoughts on the importance of the All-Star honor out of respect for the pitcher\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know when you\u2019re going to be in this position,\u201d Schneider said as he relayed Verlander\u2019s message. \u201cYou have to appreciate the people along the way. He\u2019s made lifelong friends from being in this game for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verlander had more gas left in the pregame speech tank. He talked AL starter Dylan Cease out of throwing a changeup as the first pitch of the game and go with a heater against Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.<\/p>\n

Cease threw a 96.9-mph four-seam strike to Schwarber and struck out the side in the first inning,<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could be a politician,\u201d Cease said of Verlander.<\/p>\n

Kevin McGonigle, Verlander\u2019s\u2019 21-year-old Tigers teammate and suburban Philadelphia native, soaked in the moment when Verlander took the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe kept telling the guys that you don\u2019t take anything for granted and if you keep working hard, you will find yourself back in this room multiple time,\u201d McGonigle said. \u201cBe a good teammate and building relationships and getting to learn as much as you can from other guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verlander, who did not discuss the speech, enjoyed the chance to participate in some final festivities and walked the All-Star red carpet in the afternoon with his wife, model Kate Upton, and their two young children.<\/p>

Read more South Korean company paid Trump $2 million amid trade investigation<\/a><\/p>\n

The lone bummer for Verlander is that the Detroit Tigers All-Star was unable to pitch in the game as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Verlander, the oldest player in Major League Baseball<\/a> , signed a $13 million, one-year contract to rejoin the Tigers in February.<\/p>\n

He has made only one start in an injury-ravaged season and was named to the All-Star team as a Legend Pick by Commissioner Rob Manfred. Phillies slugger Bryce Harper earned the honor in the National League.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy with the body of work,\u201d Verlander said ahead of the game. \u201cI hope I can add to it somehow, someway in the second half. When I look back, I know I gave it everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verlander went 183-115 from 2005 to 2017 with the Tigers. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011. He helped Detroit reach the World Series in 2006 and 2012, along with four straight division titles from 2011 to 2014.<\/p>\n

Verlander was the 2017 ALCS MVP in Houston and helped the Astros win the World Series that year, and was a key player for them when they won another title in 2022. He won his second and third Cy Young Awards in 2019 and 2022.<\/p>\n

Verlander, who also had brief stints with the New York Mets and San Francisco, played coy when asked about which team cap he would choose for his sure-thing induction into the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least, I was able to narrow it down to two,\u201d Verlander said with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019m not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verlander relaxed against a clubhouse wall next to his locker as he reflected over a career that stamped him as perhaps the best of his era.<\/p>\n

Verlander has a career record of 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA in 556 starts across 21 major league seasons with the Tigers, Astros, Mets and San Francisco Giants. He has 3,554 strikeouts while tossing 26 complete games, including nine shutouts.<\/p>\n

Not bad for a kid from Virginia who was sent to a baseball academy by his family to help him gain arm strength. His parents knew so little about how to guide a kid that flashed big league potential that his father, Richard, bought a most unique kind of instructional guide.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad bought a \u2018How to Pitch for Dummies\u2019 book,\u201d Verlander said to laughter. \u201cI\u2019m not joking. He\u2019s like, OK, step one, you step back with your left foot. Step two, you turn this way. We were doing that in my front yard because he learned I could throw a rock pretty far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turned out, with a little help along the way, Verlander learned to throw a baseball pretty hard.<\/p>

Read more Hilton Grand Vacations fires employee who sent racial slur via social media to Aces\u2019 Chelsea Gray<\/a><\/p>\n

Verlander just hopes in his last season, he hasn\u2019t thrown his last one.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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