Ben Verlander paid tribute to his brother Justin before the pitcher’s final career start Saturday against Pittsburgh. It is Justin’s first Tigers start in Detroit since August 2017; he was activated before the game after missing time since April with hip inflammation.
Ben, a former Tigers minor leaguer and host of “Flippin’ Bats,” wrote that watching Justin play helped him fall in love with baseball and that he would get to watch his brother one more time.
Justin announced in July that this season would be his last. Before Saturday’s game, he had 3,554 career strikeouts, eighth in MLB history, and 556 starts; he ranks 29th in starts and second among pitchers who exclusively started, behind Tom Glavine’s 682. In his first 11 seasons, all with Detroit, he won Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP awards.
