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On Saturday, September 26, Justin Verlander is scheduled to walk out to the mound one last time. He is 43 years old. He has pitched in exactly one big-league game this whole season, and it went badly. His hip and his hamstring have kept him out since March.
By every normal rule, this final start should not be happening. Verlander knows that. When reporters asked about his rushed comeback, he gave an answer that is worth far more than any box score:
“We’re not following the normal script for rehab players. I mean, there’s no point. I told these guys: ‘What are we saving my arm for?’ It doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think clearly there’s some underlying stuff there with the hamstring, but it just is what it is. I mean, there’s a chance that I could seriously hurt myself, but it’s part of being a professional athlete at 43.”
That question – what are we saving it for? – is the reason Justin Verlander’s final start matters to people who have never watched a baseball game in their lives.
Who Is Justin Verlander, and Why Does This Last Start Matter?
If baseball isn’t your sport, here is the short version. A pitcher’s arm is the whole career. Every throw puts real strain on the shoulder and elbow, so teams guard it like something fragile and valuable – because it is.
Verlander has thrown for 21 seasons in Major League Baseball. His record is 266 wins and 159 losses. He has 3,554 strikeouts, the eighth-most of anyone who has ever played. He won the Cy Young Award, given each year to the best pitcher in each league, three times. He won a Most Valuable Player award and two World Series championships.
He started with the Detroit Tigers in 2005, was named the American League’s Rookie of the Year in 2006, and stayed until 2017. Then his career took him to other cities. Before this season, he signed a one-year contract to come back to Detroit, so he could finish where he began.
It did not go to plan. In his first start, on March 30, he gave up five runs and couldn’t get through the fourth inning. A few days later he was on the injured list with an inflamed hip. Then a hamstring strain pushed his return back even further. In July he announced this season would be his last. (We wrote about what that retirement decision said about finishing well at the time.)
So Saturday’s game at Detroit’s home ballpark is not about statistics. Nothing that happens on the mound will change his place in history. It is about a man coming home to do the thing he was made for, one more time, in front of the people who watched him start.
Why Rehab Is Really a Savings Plan
Here is the part most coverage skims past. Verlander said he is “not following the normal script for rehab players.” That script exists for a very good reason.
A normal rehab is slow on purpose. You rest. You throw a little, then a little more. You pitch in the minor leagues before you come back to the big team. Every step is built to protect one thing: next season. The whole system assumes there is a later to save the arm for.
Take that “later” away and the logic flips. If there is no next season, the careful plan isn’t protecting anything anymore. It’s just holding back the one thing you have left to give. That is what Verlander saw. It’s why he told his team there was “no point” following the usual path, and why he has reportedly talked about pushing toward 100 pitches on Saturday.
He is not pretending it is safe. He said plainly that he could seriously hurt himself. He has simply decided that an arm kept in reserve for a season that will never come isn’t really being saved. It’s being wasted.
The Question Hiding Inside “What Are We Saving My Arm For?”
Most of us are living on the normal rehab script, and most of the time that is wise. We save money for a rainy day. We rest so we can work tomorrow. We hold something back because there will be a later that needs it.
But some things get saved for so long that “later” quietly turns into “never.” The kind words you meant to say to your father. The apology you have been rehearsing for three years. The idea you’re keeping in a drawer until the timing is perfect. The patience and warmth you save for strangers and rarely spend at home.
Your body should be looked after. This is not a call to wreck your health. But your love, your time, your attention, your courage – those don’t keep well in storage. They are made to be used.
There is a line in one of the oldest letters still read around the world today. It was written by a man who had worn himself out for a group of people who did not always love him back. He didn’t say he would protect himself from them. He said he would “very gladly spend and be spent” for them. Not saved. Not kept in reserve. Spent – and gladly. It is an old idea, much older than baseball: that a life isn’t a thing to be stored until it’s safe to use, but something that was made, from the start, to be given away.
A Small Way to Try This Today
- Pick one thing you have been “saving” – a thank-you, a visit, a phone call, a hard conversation – and spend it this week.
- Ask yourself honestly: is this rest, or is this hiding? Rest gets you ready for something. Hiding just waits.
- If you’re not sure what you are being saved for, our free What Is My Purpose? assessment takes a few minutes and might put words to it.
Almost every athlete eventually reaches the day the thing that defined them comes to an end. Very few get to choose how they use the very last of it. On Saturday, Verlander gets to choose. Win or lose, five innings or one, he walks off having spent it.
One Thing Worth Talking About
Verlander is risking a serious injury for one last game at home. Do you think that is a wise choice at 43, or a risk he shouldn’t take? And what is one thing people tend to “save” for too long? Tell us in the comments.
Share This
- “What are we saving my arm for?” – Justin Verlander, 43, on pitching one last time. Maybe the best question anyone asked all year. bgodinspired.com
- Some things get saved so long that “later” turns into “never.” Verlander’s final start made me think about what I’m holding back. bgodinspired.com
- A rehab plan protects next season. With no next season, it only protects you from giving what you’ve got left. Worth a read: bgodinspired.com
Questions About Justin Verlander’s Final Start
When is Justin Verlander’s final start?
Justin Verlander is scheduled to make the final start of his Major League Baseball career on Saturday, September 26, 2026, for the Detroit Tigers against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park in Detroit, the second-to-last day of the regular season.
Why did Justin Verlander say “What are we saving my arm for?”
Justin Verlander said “What are we saving my arm for?” to explain why he skipped the usual slow rehab process after hip and hamstring injuries in 2026. Because he is retiring after the season, there is no future season to protect his arm for, so he chose to return quickly for one final start, while openly admitting he could seriously hurt himself.
Why is Justin Verlander pitching his last game for the Detroit Tigers?
Justin Verlander began his career with the Detroit Tigers in 2005, won the American League Rookie of the Year award with them in 2006, and pitched for Detroit until 2017. He signed a one-year contract with the Tigers before the 2026 season so that he could finish his career with the team where it began.
What are Justin Verlander’s career statistics?
Across 21 Major League Baseball seasons, Justin Verlander has a record of 266 wins and 159 losses, a 3.33 earned run average, and 3,554 strikeouts, which ranks eighth all-time. He won three Cy Young Awards, one Most Valuable Player award, and two World Series titles.
Why did Justin Verlander barely pitch in 2026?
Justin Verlander made only one start in the 2026 season before his final game. After giving up five runs on March 30, he went on the injured list in early April with left hip inflammation, and a left hamstring strain later delayed his return further.
