Justin Verlander’s 3,500th strikeout arrived on a losing afternoon, which, ironically, made it even sharper. The pitch — a 95-mile-per-hour fastball past Nathaniel Lowe — was clean and unadorned, the kind that has carried him through nearly two decades in the majors. The 40,089-strong crowd at Oracle Park rose to salute him, the scoreboard marking the moment even as the Giants ultimately absorbed an 8–0 defeat. By day’s end, he had 3,503, just 11 shy of Walter Johnson for ninth place on the all-time list.
To be sure, the proximity goes beyond the numbers; it is a tether to an older era, when longevity and dominance coexisted without apology. At 42, Verlander remains a contradiction: his fastball still crisp, his breaking pitches still biting, yet his season stubbornly poor — a 1–9 slate off a 4.53 earned run average. He insists nothing is broken, speaking of mechanics and movement as if they were constants, even when the results suggest otherwise. In his spirited defense of self, he goes so far as to contend that his “stuff’s great… right on par, literally almost up and down the board, with [2022], when I won the Cy Young” award for a third time.
In any case, the milestone puts Verlander in rare air. Only nine pitchers before him have reached it, names that may well be shorthand for mastery: Ryan, Johnson, Clemens. Each had gravitas, commanding the mound — and commanding on the mound — through sheer will and skill. And, under the circumstances, his ascent to the top provides yet more proof of his endurance. He has made it clear he wants to pitch through 2026, which speaks of a deeper defiance. The body will theoretically cooperate for so long, but the mind — particularly one accustomed to solving hitters — can stretch the clock in unexpected ways.
For now, Verlander’s continued pursuit of excellence is motivation in and of itself. Never mind the follies that come with his unwillingness to step away because he still believes in his capacity to deliver. All the same, his latest brush with history stands as a waypoint — another mark in a career built on the steady accumulation of outs. If nothing else, it reminds all and sundry that even in decline, he makes room for singularity.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
