Justin Verlander Reveals His Biggest Goal for the Rest of the 2026 Season
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The Detroit Tigers know their time with future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander is limited as the former Cy Young Award winner is set to retire at season's end. His return to Detroit hasn't been exactly how he drew it up, but the memories alone are worth seeing him in the Ole English D once again.
Verlander joins Riley Greene, Kevin McGonigle, and Dillon Dingler in Philadelphia on Tuesday for his final All-Star Game as a Legends pick, regardless of his one game played this season. His appreciation for his teammates has been shown all weekend, but what comes after the All-Star break?
Verlander has almost returned to the mound twice since being placed on the injured list way back when, but has been sidelined with another injury both times. With the clock ticking, Verlander knows that if there's anything else he wants to accomplish in the game, he's going to need to do it quickly.
Verlander's Goals for the Rest of the Season
Ahead of the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday night, Verlander joined David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez on the FOX Sports panel to get his thoughts on the rest of the season and what he's looking to accomplish. This is what the Tigers legend had to say.
"The first thing that comes to mind is just to get healthy and pitch successfully," Verlander said. "It's been so hard for me to not be able to be out there and do what I love doing, and it's been tantalizingly close."
"I don't think there are any goals; you know, 300 wins, 4,000 strikeouts were things I dreamed of being able to do, (but) the game's changed too much, I've run out of time. To just go out with a bang. Figure out how to adapt and be successful one last time and hopefully catch lightning in a bottle and help something special down the stretch."
Verlander wouldn't have returned to Detroit if he didn't think this roster makeup was good enough to make a run in the playoffs. How the Tigers have played since June 1 has shown how well this team can play when it's clicking on all cylinders, but then again, some times reflect how the team played in May.
At the end of his historic career, Tigers fans ultimately want to see him on the mound at Comerica Park pitching in a Detroit uniform one last time before he hangs up the cleats.
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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.