For nearly all ballplayers, the end comes quietly and without ceremony: with a tap on the shoulder or release waivers or an evaporation of free-agent interest. The choice to stop playing is not theirs to make.
It’s only the skinniest slice of truly exceptional players who decide when and how they want to walk away from their professional life. So even when Justin Verlander was winning his two World Series championships or putting together any of his three Cy Young Award-winning seasons or dominating so thoroughly that he became a rare pitcher to win a league MVP award, there were times when he would think about what he wanted the ending of his story to look like. And how many more pages he’d turn to get there.
When he’d encounter a veteran pitcher, or a recently retired star player, he’d ask in passing: How did you know it was time to walk away? The responses would differ in some respects. But they all seemed to be rooted in the same sentiment.
“When you know, you’ll know,” Verlander said. “Which isn’t really helpful to somebody who doesn’t know yet.”
All Verlander knows is that is still doesn’t know. He still has the fire to compete and the drive to excel in what will be his 20th MLB season. He made his intentions clear to the Giants when they asked if he still had a passion for competing. And because the Giants executive on the other end of the phone was Buster Posey, one of Verlander’s most respected contemporaries, if Verlander harbored any half-heartedness, it probably would’ve been apparent.
“When we started having the conversation a couple of weeks ago, it was very evident just how motivated he is,” Posey said while introducing the soon-to-be 42-year-old right hander on a Zoom call with reporters on Monday. “You don’t get to the level of greatness that he’s accomplished in his career without having the utmost fortitude and desire to be the best. When I think about pitchers of this generation, to me, Justin’s at the top. And for him to come to San Francisco, continue his career and build on already his Hall of Fame resume is very exciting for us.“
Verlander passed a physical and signed a one-year, $15 million contract. He’ll slot into the rotation after Logan Webb and Robbie Ray and in front of a group of young pitchers — Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp — who represent the future of the organization. Posey acknowledged that the chance for those young pitchers to learn from a sure-fire Hall of Famer was part of the allure of signing Verlander.
“But first and foremost, we see this guy pitching at the top of the rotation and being very, very good,” Posey said. “And he made that clear as well.”
Verlander is just three years removed from his last Cy Young-winning season in 2022 in which he went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts for the Houston Astros. He parlayed that season into a massive two-year, $86.7 million contract with the New York Mets, but when the season went sideways in Queens, he found himself back with the Astros following a salary-swallowing trade. He’s coming off an injury-plagued season in which he went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts and was not a candidate to appear on Houston’s postseason roster.
Verlander called last season “a worst-case scenario for me” in which shoulder capsule issues conspired with a neck injury to sap his fastball and limit his effectiveness. He called last year “totally avoidable, my fault” because he didn’t do enough to adjust his offseason routine.
“I’ve always been very lucky that I just pick it up and start throwing,” he said. “Well, at 41 that caught up with me.”
Verlander’s disappointing 2024 season was, for him, a “worst-case scenario”. (Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
Instead of picking up the baseball in January, Verlander said he hasn’t stopped throwing over the past four months. He is pleased with how his body is feeling and he’s up to 92 mph in catch play. The Giants’ medical team was satisfied after reviewing all the information in his file along with the results of the physical. Verlander and Giants pitching coach J.P. Martinez have already been in touch about how to maximize his repertoire. As difficult as the neck issue was to overcome, Verlander said the experience taught him a lesson that will be important as he attempts to keep competing at a high level — not just for this season but potentially for several more.
Given the game’s prevailing winds, Verlander might be the last pitcher in major-league history who has a shot at winning 300 games. And achieving the 38 victories he needs likely will take more than two seasons. Beyond that milestone, he was asked, what are his goals for this season?
“Personally? Proving that I still have it,” he said. “I wouldn’t be coming back and playing if I didn’t think I could be great. I really, truly believe … I can be back to the pitcher I was not long ago when I won a Cy Young Award. I still feel I have something to give.”
Verlander did not expect to be giving his all in a Giants uniform. He didn’t expect that they would call and he acknowledged that they were an easy team to relegate given the rigors of the NL West. But when Posey expressed interest, it was a call that Verlander was eager to take.
“Honestly, talking to somebody like Buster with his experience was pretty refreshing in a game that is so full of a lot of analysts now,” Verlander said. “That was a nice draw, just to talk with somebody who’s been on the field and competed but also understands the analytics, right? It was very clear that he gets both sides of it. So in having those conversations, it was very comfortable for me speaking with him, and hopefully vice versa.“
Posey had to do his share of convincing, too.
“Obviously, immediately you’re like, ‘Man, really tough division, going to be tough,‘ and that’s obviously true,” Verlander said. “But I think that this team has a lot of upside and may be a bit overlooked. I just think there’s a really good chance that this team can do something special.”
When Posey received his first callup in 2009, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson occupied a locker across from him in the Giants clubhouse. It was the final month of the Big Unit’s career. Posey only caught Johnson once on Sept. 25 at Wrigley Field — one inning, five batters, 13 pitches — but understood what it meant for a young player to form a battery with one of the game’s all-time greats.
“It may seem a little bit flippant, but it’s true,” Posey said. “You walk in each morning, you look over and there’s Justin Verlander or Randy Johnson sitting their locker, and you tell yourself, ‘Man, I better bring it today.‘ You don’t want to let these guys down. You want to prove that you belong in the big leagues and have a chance to play alongside them.“
“I’m just really excited for our young guys to watch the way this guy works,” Posey continued. “When you’re a guy driven like Justin is, your number one priority is coming in and taking care of your business each and every day. Then if you have time to wrap your arm around another guy, you do that. But if he comes in and just takes care of his business, for (young pitchers) to be able to watch him and see the way that a 20-year vet goes about it, day in and day out, that in itself is going to be more than enough for them to grow in their own career.“
And keep adding their own pages.
“I don’t think I can defeat Father Time,” Verlander said. “Nobody can. But I think the groundwork that I’ve put in and the work ethic that I’ve had since I’ve been in this game has afforded me, hopefully, on the back end, some extra time. I mean, it’s the first thing everybody wants to point to when things aren’t going well: ‘Okay, Father Time finally caught up.‘ I’m trying to stave it off. I don’t know. I’m a bit stubborn. Have to be.
“But, you know, I still think I can pitch at an extremely high ability.“
(Top photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
