Justin Verlander Reflects on the 2019 Houston Astros as Retirement Nears

The 2026 Houston Astros are fighting tooth and nail to return to the postseason, as they look to best the Texas Rangers for the AL West division crown. However, not too long ago, this Astros team was at the top of Major League Baseball and was nearly shoo-ins for the postseason.

When Houston won its very first World Series championship, a major reason why they were victorious was due to the acquisition of Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers in 2017. Verlander not only brought a championship to Houston, but he also achieved something never done before in his career.

Verlander became a mainstay in the Astros' starting rotation from 2017 until 2022, helping the franchise win another World Series before he signed a deal with the New York Mets in the 2022 offseason. But one team that never won a championship that Verlander holds near to his heart was the 2019 Astros.

Verlander's Thoughts on the 2019 Team

JV celebrate — Houston Astros relief pitcher Bryan Abreu (52), pitcher Justin Verlander (35) and teammates celebrate defeating the Seattle Mariners. Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Joining "On Base with Mookie Betts," sponsored by Bleacher Report, Betts asked the future Hall of Famer what team was the most talented through and through that he's been a part of, and without hesitation, Verlander said the 2019 Astros.

"The '19 Astros were probably the most talented team," Verlander said. "(Jose) Altuve, Gerrit (Cole), Carlos (Correa) - jeez, man, that team, George (Springer)."

One name that Verlander couldn't leave out after Betts brought him to his attention was former Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel.

"Yuli (Gurriel) and Jose, you could make your pitch; it didn't matter. They're so handy; nowadays, the way to hit is very robotic, but some of the best hitters I've ever seen, like Jose, would go down and get a ball and flick it with his wrists. Yuli would do the same thing and turn it into something special, which makes it way harder to pitch to."

Keep in mind Verlander has played with several great teams in his career, such as the 2006, 2012, and 2013 Detroit Tigers, and still chose the Astros team that didn't win a World Series over the two teams that did.

Even out of all the rotations that Verlander has been a part of, he still chose the 2019 rotation as one of the best he's ever been a part of.

"We would just come into series' and we would just steamroll them. There was no breath of air for the other team. You face me and then, okay, what do we got tomorrow? Oh, Gerrit Cole, how's he doing? Uh, hasn't lost a game in four months and is striking out 350 people. All right. Okay. We got through that. What we got next? Uh, Charlie Morton. Oh, okay. All right."

Verlander hasn't decided whether he'll go into the Hall of Fame as a Tiger or an Astros, but both have very strong arguments as to why it should be one franchise over the other.

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