PHILADELPHIA — Justin Verlander used his fingers in this trip to Philadelphia simply to tip his cap toward applauding All-Star Game fans.
He once playfully flipped off Phillies fans when his Houston Astros were in Philadelphia for the 2022 World Series.
There only was mutual respect in this game.
The 43-year-old Verlander was one of the few All-Stars 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.
Verlander is set to retire at the end of the season to cap a career that includes three Cy Young Awards.
Up first, one more Midsummer Classic.
“In his 10th and final All-Star Game, please welcome to Philadelphia, Justin Verlander,” the public address announcer noted.
Verlander didn’t totally sit out the American League’s 4-0 win over the National League.
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’s career.
“You never know when you’re going to be in this position,” Schneider said as he relayed Verlander’s message. “You have to appreciate the people along the way. He’s made lifelong friends from being in this game for so long.”
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.
Cease threw a 96.9-mph four-seam strike to Schwarber and struck out the side in the first inning,
“He could be a politician,” Cease said of Verlander.
Kevin McGonigle, Verlander’s’ 21-year-old Tigers teammate and suburban Philadelphia native, soaked in the moment when Verlander took the floor.
“He kept telling the guys that you don’t take anything for granted and if you keep working hard, you will find yourself back in this room multiple time,” McGonigle said. “Be a good teammate and building relationships and getting to learn as much as you can from other guys.”
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.
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, signed a one-year, $13 million contract to rejoin the Tigers in February.
He only has made 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.
“I’m happy with the body of work,” Verlander said ahead of the game. “I hope I can add to it somehow, someway in the second half. When I look back, I know I gave it everything.”
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.
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.
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.
“At least, I was able to narrow it down to two,” Verlander said with a laugh. “I’m not there yet.”
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.
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.
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.
“My dad bought a ‘How to Pitch for Dummies’ book,” Verlander said to laughter. “I’m not joking. He’s 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.”
Turned out, with a little help along the way, Verlander learned to throw a baseball pretty hard.
Verlander just hopes in his last season, he hasn’t thrown his last one.
