Justin Verlander Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sean Keeley on

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It was Justin Verlander’s moment, but Jason Benetti made it even more special.

On Saturday, the three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion took the mound for the final time in his storied Major League Baseball career. The eventual Hall of Famer capped a 22-year career with a six-strikeout performance in a little under six innings of work.

From the jump, Benetti, on the call for Detroit SportsNet, brought the poetry and romance of baseball to Verlander’s final start.

“Justin Verlander has his moment, but he wants to mow down some Pirates today,” said Benetti. “When Justin Verlander first took this mound in 2005, all he wanted was for his dream to become reality. And now for one day, he simply wants reality to be something of a dream.”

When Verlander’s work was done for the day, Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch walked out of the dugout, but instead of walking to the mound, he signaled toward Verlander’s seven-year-old daughter, Genevieve, who ran to give her dad a hug. His Tigers teammates circled the mound to congratulate him.​

Benetti gave the moment room to breathe, peppering in the right amount of commentary to give it the weight everyone was witnessing.

“Of all the pitches he threw from 60 feet, 6 inches… the speed at which she ran out to the mound might be the most important thing we’ve seen today,” said Benetti of the father-daughter embrace. “It can’t be goodbye if you still have so many memories that you’re never gonna lose, right? He’s always gonna be here.

“… So many people have family memories watching him, and it feels like farewell to something more than a player that we are watching this afternoon.”

While Verlander came out of the game while the Tigers trailed 2-0, Eduardo Valencia sent everyone home happy with a two-run walk-off home run to give Detroit a 4-3 win.

“High fly ball. Left field. Did he? DID HE? YES HE DID!!!” exclaimed Benetti on the call. “Hollywood, Line 1! The Tigers do it for JV!”

It was a day Tigers fans will never forget because of both Verlander and Benetti.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley