Justin Verlander’s Final Season: A Kid-Friendly Look Back at Baseball in 2005

Originally published: Jul 14, 2026, 09:00 AM ET

The Big Announcement: A Baseball Legend Says Goodbye

After a long and super-successful career, Justin Verlander — a famous pitcher (the person who throws the ball to the batter) — is finally hanging up his cleats. Here’s what you need to know, explained simply:

• Last Wednesday (around July 8, 2026), Verlander announced that this current season, his 21st in the major leagues (the top baseball league called MLB), will be his last.
• He has won the Cy Young Award (a trophy for the best pitcher) three times and was the 2011 American League MVP (Most Valuable Player, meaning the most helpful player in his group of teams).
• He will play in his final All-Star Game (a fun match where the best players team up) as a special “Legend Pick” chosen by the MLB boss, Rob Manfred.
• He is the oldest player in MLB right now. He has pitched in 556 career games after first playing as a 22-year-old back in 2005.

Important: Verlander is seen as a sure-fire future member of the Hall of Fame — a special place that honors the greatest baseball players ever.

An Inauspicious Start (Which Just Means a Rough Beginning)

Verlander will end his career as a superstar, but his very first taste of big-league baseball looked more like a normal beginner than a future icon.

• He made two starts (games where he was the main pitcher) for the Detroit Tigers in July 2005.
• He lost both games (recorded as 0‑2), gave up a combined 15 hits (balls hit safely) and 9 earned runs (points scored because of his pitches).
• Fun fact: One of the hitters he faced in his unmemorable debut was Alex Cora, who is now the manager (coach) of the Boston Red Sox. Cora went 0‑for‑2 (didn’t get a hit in two tries) against him.

But he quickly got better! In his second season (2006), he won 17 games and earned the American League’s Rookie of the Year award (best first‑year player).

More Notable Debuts Around the League

Verlander wasn’t the only big name to play his first MLB game in 2005. Several other stars started that year too:

• Robinson Canó
• A 19‑year‑old Félix Hernández
• Nelson Cruz

Verlander will be the last of that 2005 newcomer group to retire from the majors. Here’s a quick timeline of others:

1. Journeyman pitcher Rich Hill played his final MLB game last summer (2025) for his 14th different team.
2. Adam Wainwright (another 2005 debutant) played his last game in 2023.
3. Other notable 2005 debuts include Ryan Zimmerman, Edwin Encarnación, Hanley Ramírez, Brian McCann, and Shin‑Soo Choo.
4. Verlander will have outlasted Zimmerman’s final game (2021) by a full five years.

A Future Pope Watches the White Sox Win It All

The Chicago White Sox won the World Series (the championship) in 2005, and they had a very famous fan in the stands — though nobody knew it at the time!

• The person is now Pope Leo XIV, but back then he was Robert Prevost, a Chicago native and a dedicated White Sox fan.
• He attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series and even briefly appeared on the TV broadcast in the ninth inning.
• The White Sox swept the series (won all games) for their first championship in nearly 90 years.
• In June 2026, Chicago’s catcher (the player who catches the pitches) from that series, A.J. Pierzynski, gave the pope the ball from the final out of that Game 1.

Fun Fact: The pope was just a regular fan cheering his team before he became a world leader!

Bonds Takes a Break While Chasing History

By 2005, slugger (big home‑run hitter) Barry Bonds was close to the all‑time home‑run record.

• After the 2004 season, he had 703 career home runs (including 45 he hit that year).
• People thought 2005 would be the year he’d get near Hank Aaron’s record of 755.
• But knee surgeries made him miss most of 2005. He didn’t play until September and appeared in only 14 games, hitting 5 home runs.
• He didn’t give up! Bonds eventually broke Aaron’s record in August 2007 at age 43.

The Year of Derrek Lee (and A‑Rod) at the Plate

One surprising story of 2005 was how amazing Derrek Lee (first baseman for the Chicago Cubs) played.

Before 2005, he had played 1,027 games as a solid but not spectacular hitter. His best year before was 2004 with 32 home runs and 98 RBIs (Runs Batted In — points he helped teammates score). But in 2005:

• He hit 46 home runs
• He drove in 107 RBIs
• He led the entire MLB in hits, doubles, batting average (how often he got a hit), and slugging percentage (a measure of power hitting)

Other hot hitters that year:

• Andruw Jones hit 51 home runs and 128 RBIs (leading the league in homers).
• Alex Rodríguez (New York Yankees) hit 48 home runs and won the American League MVP.
• Albert Pujols won the National League MVP.

Roger Clemens Still Throwing Smoke at 42

“Throwing smoke” is a kid‑friendly way to say pitching really fast and well! In 2005, older pitchers were still dominating.

• The Houston Astros went to the World Series thanks to a great group of starting pitchers.
• Roger Clemens, age 42, led the league in ERA (Earned Run Average — a low number means the pitcher barely lets the other team score) with a tiny 1.87.
• His teammates Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt also were among the top six vote‑getters for the National League Cy Young Award.
• However, Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals won that award, beating Dontrelle Willis.
• In the American League, Bartolo Colón won the Cy Young by winning 21 games.

The Nationals Embark on First Season in a New Home

A team also had a fresh start in 2005:

• The Washington Nationals (previously called the Montreal Expos) played their first game in Washington, D.C. in April 2005.
• They weren’t amazing, finishing with an even 81‑81 win‑loss record.
• But fans showed up! They had 2,731,993 total attendees at their temporary stadium, RFK Stadium, which could hold over 45,000 people.

Current Top Prospects Were Just Babies

Here’s a wild fact showing how long Verlander has played: when he debuted, some of today’s rookie stars weren’t even born yet!

• Kevin McGonigle (Tigers rookie) was still a month away from his first birthday in July 2005.
• Colt Emerson (Seattle Mariners new player) was 16 days from being born when Verlander first played.
• Konnor Griffin (Pittsburgh Pirates rookie) wouldn’t be born for another nine months.

Recent Changes to the Game? Never Heard of Them

If a fan from 2005 traveled to today’s MLB, they’d notice the game looks a bit different. Here are the big changes, in numbered form:

1. Pitch Clock – A timer that forces the pitcher to throw faster. Because of this, the average nine‑inning game in 2025 lasted 2 hours, 38 minutes, down from 2 hours, 46 minutes in 2005.
2. Infield Shift Restrictions – Rules stopping teams from moving their fielders to weird spots to prevent hits.
3. Automated Ball‑Strike System – A computer helps call balls and strikes (whether a pitch is good) instead of only a human umpire.
4. “Ghost Runners” – In extra innings (when the game is tied after 9 innings), a pretend runner is placed on second base to help end games quicker.

Summary

Justin Verlander, a future Hall of Famer with three Cy Youngs and an MVP, is retiring after 21 seasons. He debuted in 2005 — a year when the White Sox won with a future pope watching, Barry Bonds was sidelined, Derrek Lee and A‑Rod raked, Roger Clemens pitched great at 42, the Nationals moved to Washington, and some of today’s rookies were infants. Baseball has since added new rules like the pitch clock, but Verlander’s lasting legacy bridges those two eras perfectly.

FAQ

1. What is a Cy Young Award?
It’s a trophy given each year to the best pitcher in the American and National Leagues — like a gold star for the top throwers.

2. Who was the future pope at the 2005 World Series?
He was Robert Prevost, now called Pope Leo XIV. He was a Chicago White Sox fan and attended Game 1 of the 2005 Series.

3. What is a “ghost runner”?
In extra innings today, MLB places an automatic pretend runner on second base so teams have a better chance to score and finish the game faster.

4. Why was Verlander’s debut called “inauspicious”?
That’s a fancy word for “not impressive at first.” He lost his first two games and gave up many hits, but he quickly became a star.