'I Was Sobbing,' Justin Verlander Talks Mound Visit From Daughter in Video After Final MLB Start

Justin Verlander discussed his emotional reaction to his daughter, Genevieve, joining him on the mound as he exited his final MLB start on Saturday.

"The way it went with Genevieve running out, I had no clue," Verlander told reporters after the game (0:33 mark). "Totally blindsided. It hit me like a ton of bricks, that was amazing. I was sobbing and had to tell her just to make sure that she understood I was happy. She was fine, I just wanted to make sure she was fine. She hasn't seen me cry like that."

"Walking off the field with my family, obviously we've talked a lot about how my life has changed and what my family means to me and what I'm looking forward to most in retirement, to be able to walk off the field with them, I can't think of a better ending," he added.

Verlander pitched five innings in the Detroit Tigers' 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday before he was removed with one out in the top of the sixth.

As Tigers manager A.J. Hinch exited the dugout to take out the right-hander, Verlander's daughter also entered the field to meet her father as his legendary MLB career came to a close.

Verlander was later congratulated by his teammates as well as the rest of his family.

It wasn't the only time that his seven-year-old daughter was involved in his retirement festivities, as she previously threw the ceremonial first pitch to her father ahead of Detroit's 8-7 victory over Pittsburgh on Friday.

"It's been awesome. We've been practicing," Verlander said beforehand, per MLB.com's Jason Beck. "She's all pumped up about it. We actually came out here to the field and practiced off the mound one day. I asked her, 'Where do you want to go? You want to go to the mound?' And she's like, 'The mound.' I'm like, 'That's my girl.' 

"She's been really excited. At home, she wants to grab a baseball and go up to play catch with me, which is the first time this has happened. I don't push on her at all, so to have her want to go play catch in the backyard has been awesome, and she's glowing about it."

Verlander announced his plan to retire at the end of the 2026 season in July.

On Saturday, the 43-year-old officially wrapped up a stellar career in which he tallied 10 All-Star nods, three Cy Young Awards, two World Series titles and one American League MVP award.

Verlander will step away from the sport with a 3.33 ERA, while his 3,560 strikeouts rank No. 8 on the all-time MLB leaderboard.