According to the report, Justin Verlander announced last Wednesday that this season, his 21st in the major leagues, will be his final campaign. The three-time Cy Young winner and 2011 American League MVP will make his final All-Star Game as a Legend Pick selected by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. The oldest player in MLB has appeared in 556 career games after making his big-league debut as a 22-year-old in 2005.
According to the report, Verlander’s first major league action was a modest start. He made two starts for the Detroit Tigers in July 2005, going 0-2 while allowing a combined 15 hits and nine earned runs. One of the batters he faced in his debut was future Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who went 0-for-2. Verlander rebounded the following season, winning 17 games and taking home the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006.
According to the report, a number of notable players also debuted in 2005, including Robinson Cano, a 19-year-old Félix Hernández and Nelson Cruz. Other 2005 debutants listed in the report include Ryan Zimmerman, Edwin Encarnación, Hanley Ramírez, Brian McCann and Shin-Soo Choo. Verlander will be the last of that group to retire; the report notes journeyman Rich Hill played his final MLB game last summer (for his 14th different club), and Adam Wainwright’s final outing came in 2023.
According to the report, the 2005 season also featured the Chicago White Sox’s World Series sweep, the franchise’s first title in nearly 90 years. The report says a devoted Chicago fan who would later become Pope Leo XIV — then Robert Prevost, Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine — attended Game 1 and made a brief TV cameo in the ninth inning. The White Sox’s catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, gifted the ball from the final out of that game to Prevost in June.
According to the report, Barry Bonds entered 2005 with 703 career home runs after hitting 45 in 2004, but knee operations in the offseason limited him to a September debut that year. Bonds played in 14 games in 2005 and hit five home runs; the report notes he later tied Hank Aaron’s record in August 2007 at age 43.
