Hunter Brown was a kid in the Detroit suburbs when Justin Verlander first started carving up American League lineups. He watched from the stands, from his living room, from wherever a young baseball fan could catch a glimpse of a future Hall of Famer in his prime.
Years later, they shared a bullpen in Houston. And when Verlander announced this week that the 2026 season will be his last, Brown didn’t just react like a teammate. He reacted like a guy who grew up wearing a Tigers hat.
“My favorite player growing up. One of my favorite teammates I’ve had. I’m a little bummed, obviously. I wish he could pitch until he was 75 years old,” Brown said, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome.
That line — the 75 years old bit — is the kind of thing you say when you’re half-joking but completely serious. Nobody actually pitches at 75. Verlander will turn 43 before his final season starts, and even he has acknowledged the clock is ticking. But Brown’s point landed because it came from a place beyond professional respect.
A childhood hero becomes a clubhouse mentor
Brown didn’t learn from just any veteran. He learned from the exact pitcher he tried to copy as a teenager. The mechanics, the preparation, the way Verlander attacked hitters — all of it was already baked into Brown’s baseball brain before they ever became teammates.
That makes the relationship different. Most young pitchers get advice from someone who won a Cy Young or two. Brown got advice from the guy whose poster was probably on his bedroom wall.
Verlander’s retirement announcement came the same week MLB named him a legend pick for the All-Star Game, a fitting nod for a 21-year career that started in Detroit and included two separate stints with the Astros. He won two World Series rings in Houston. He won two of his three Cy Young Awards there. The guy basically owns a wing of the franchise’s history.
For Astros fans, the news brought back everything Verlander meant during that golden stretch from 2017 through his return in 2023. He wasn’t just good. He was the guy who set the standard. The work ethic. The durability. The refusal to accept anything less than elite.
What Verlander leaves behind in Houston
Brown’s reaction showed that standard didn’t disappear when Verlander left for the Mets and then came back. It stuck. Pitchers like Brown, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier — they all absorbed something from watching him operate.
Verlander will finish his career where it started, with the Tigers in 2026. That feels right for a guy who never really stopped being a Tiger at heart. But the Astros part of his legacy isn’t small. It’s heavy. Two titles, two Cy Youngs, and a bunch of kids from Michigan who grew up wanting to be just like him.
Brown’s 75-year-old joke was sweet, but it also cut. Because the truth is Verlander can’t pitch forever, no matter how much any of us — teammates, fans, or the guy himself — might want him to.
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