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Justin Verlander turns 40 years old on February 20, and he's gearing up for his first season with the New York Mets. Verlander enters the season not as a question mark veteran, but as one of the elite pitchers in the game.
The Mets ace will inevitably face questions regarding his future in the game. However, it doesn't seem like retirement is on the cards for Verlander any time soon.
The Mets ace signed a two-year contract with New York at the Winter Meetings. And when speaking to the media Wednesday, he expressed a willingness to pitch beyond those two years.
“I think I’m constantly adapting. I’m always seeking out new information, with the end goal of that information being to do what I can to carry my career as long as possible and to stay at my peak as long as I possibly can,” Verlander said. “You’ve seen some guys in the history of our sport and other sports carry it into their mid-40s. I don’t see why not.”
Verlander is right, the MLB is full of pitchers who have pitched into their 40s and pitched well. Guys such as Randy Johnson, Bartolo Colon, and Nolan Ryan still applied their trade into their 40s.
An outlier example would be Jamie Moyer. Moyer, a former sixth-round pick, pitched until age 49. He capped off a 25-year career in 2012 with the Colorado Rockies.
Verlander isn't sure when he will retire. However, he certainly will pitch until he simply can't do it. And he won't call it a career until he has nothing left to give.
“The only guarantee I can give is that at the end of my career, whenever the game tells me it’s time, there will be no stone unturned that would allow me to be as successful as I can for as long as I can,” Verlander said.
