Former Detroit Tiger Don Kelly, Now Pirates Manager, Praises Justin Verlander
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Baseball is beautiful, isn't it?
The Detroit Tigers will square off against the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend to cap off the 2026 regular season, which will feature Justin Verlander's final start of his career on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Comerica Park.
The celebration is in store, but for the other side of the dugout, the Pirates are looking to spoil Verlander's final start. Former Detroit Tigers utility player and now Pirates manager Don Kelly gets a front-row seat to watch his former teammate ride off into the sunset at a ballpark that's near and dear to them both.
Kelly is widely known as Pittsburgh's manager, but for Detroit fans, that's Donny Kelly. Ahead of the final series of the season, Kelly spoke with Jeremy Otto of WWJ Radio Network, discussing the fond memories he has with Verlander as a teammate and as a mentor.
Don Kelly Highlights JV
Being able to sit back and watch Verlander pitch in his prime was a treat enough, but for Kelly and the rest of the Tigers squad more than a decade ago, it was just another day at the office for JV. Kelly touches on when he knew Verlander just felt different, dominant, on the mound.
"It was almost every game in 2011; every time he took the mound, you were shocked when he gave up a hit," Kelly said. "It was unbelievable, the stuff that he had. I don't know how many times he carried no-hitters deep into a game that year, but to have the MVP and Cy Young Award, he certainly earned it."
One moment that Tigers fans will remember is when Verlander lit the back of Kelly's cleat on fire in the dugout and seeing Kelly walking around without knowing any of it until he did. That was clearly a fond memory for the former Tigers utility man.
"I was not too happy about that one. It was hilarious and funny, he got me good."
Justin Verlander once pulled a hot foot on an unsuspecting Don Kelly! 🔥👟😂 pic.twitter.com/iK8EHfeeDU
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) April 1, 2020
But jokes aside, Kelly had a close look at what it meant to be Justin Verlander's teammate, especially in the early 2010s.
"On start days, he was locked, you don't really talk to him. He had the headphones on, preparing to go out and dominate. Guys have routines like that, but he was very focused."
Kelly, once getting to watch Verlander warm up to dominant opponents, is now on the other side of things as Verlander looks to dominate his team, the Pirates. Kelly knows that regardless of the stuff he has on the mound come Saturday, he'll compete until A.J. Hinch takes him out of the game.
"The one thing that sets him apart is that competitive aspect - he hates to lose at anything - cards, golf, baseball, it's really what's driven him and what's going to be a first ballot Hall of Fame career."
With all the praise Kelly can give Verlander for an incredible career, he still wants the Pirates to go out and play their best brand of baseball, regardless of whether it ruins JV's final start.
"I'm a competitor and so are our guys, we're going to be playing."
Nostalgia will run deep in the stands at Comerica Park come Saturday and even within the Pirates dugout with Kelly sitting on the top step, but all in all, Kelly praises Verlander on what has turned into a wonderful career.
"He learned through his career how to manage himself, not just through the week but as he goes through a game, too. In his younger years, he was trying to throw every pitch as hard as he could; then he learned how to manage that in the game. He went from a guy who threw hard to a really, really good pitcher who could throw anything for a strike and locate his stuff really well."
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.