Minnesota Twins greats bid farewell to Justin Verlander

Fri, September 4, 2026 at 9:11 AM UTC

Justin?

Justin here.

Just wanted to say it was always a pleasure competing against you.

Sometimes you got me, sometimes I got you.

I know Justin Verlander better than he knows himself.

I know Moreno better than Moreno knows Moreno, and Moreno knows it.

I know he spends 30 to 40 minutes a day grooming his goatee.

I know he's not as attractive as me.

I know he can't lay off a low and away curve.

And he can't touch my change-up.

You know what else I know?

I know he likes to sit on the first fastball.

And he thinks that I'm impressed by a 102 mile an hour fastball in the ninth inning.

Okay, I am impressed.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't be able to crush it.

What's up, JV?

Torii Hunter here.

Man, I just wanna say congratulations on such an awesome career.

Man, you did your thing.

I enjoyed playing with you.

I enjoyed playing against you.

I just want you to enjoy the next chapter of your life with your wife and your beautiful children.

And hopefully we can get out and play some golf.

I loved competing against you.

I didn't like it.

100 up in the zone, curve ball off of that, slider late, see you.

Justin, Michael Cuddyer here.

Congrats on a Hall of Fame career.

Jason Kubel here.

Congrats on a great career.

Just a incredible run that you had.

And most importantly, what I enjoyed about watching you compete was your competitiveness as well as your consistency.

I often think back to those early 2010s Tigers rotation and just how good you guys were and you were the ace of it.

I always really respected you and, and loved going to battle against you.

Although, I, I think I was the only one considering it a battle.

To, to you I was probably just an out.

And welcome to the dark side, brother.

If you ever wanna get whooped on a tennis court, you know where to find me.

Hey, Justin.

I just wanted to congratulate you on an incredible career.

It was an honor to share the field and compete against you over the past 20-plus years.

A true competitor, a true ace.

We knew we had our hands full every time you took the mound.

But I just hope you're having a great time this last season of yours, and I wish you nothing but the best in your next chapter.