Justin Verlander Makes Bold Declaration About His Future as He Joins Exclusive 3500K Club

While many pitchers of his age are contemplating retirement, Justin Verlander is still delivering 98-mph fastballs and making baseball history. During a game against the Nationals on Sunday, he achieved the career milestone of 3,500 strikeouts. Later, the veteran spoke about his plans for the future.

Verlander is 10th on MLB’s all-time strikeout list. The nine other members of the 3,500-strikeout club are Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, and Walter Johnson.

While Verlander’s achievement was gigantic, what he said further really got people’s attention. The 42-year-old opened up about his plans beyond 2025.

“As I’ve been on the mound, things have started to get better and better. To me, that’s a good sign with all the work I put in after my nerve injury last year, which notoriously takes a long time. The ball’s rolling in the right direction, and I would like to continue pitching. You never know. It’s a fickle game, too, but I think the stuff is still there,” Verlander said.

Well, his 98-mph fastball serves as proof that he is still capable of posting impressive numbers, even if his performance this summer has been inconsistent. Over his last three games, though, he has been excellent, with a 0.60 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 15 innings. Verlander is aware he needs to be consistent, as he further remarked, “I’ve got to try a lot harder to throw harder.”

The Giants manager Bob Melvin also praised Verlander’s style and his impact on the team: “That’s big boy stuff. Justin has brought so much to the team. He’s all in on everything. He’s so curious. In between starts, he’s always looking for something else. He scouts everybody very hard. You understand why he’s gotten to the point he is right now.”

The celebration of Verlander’s milestone was, however, short-lived at Oracle Park, as the Nationals cruised to an 8–0 win. Verlander was clearly unhappy with the outcome.

Verlander reaches 3500 Ks, but the Nationals steal the spotlight

The Nationals, powered by a resurgent MacKenzie Gore and an offense that wouldn’t stop, beat the Giants 8-0. That somewhat dulled Verlander’s achievement. Washington’s offense was on fire, with James Wood hitting two two-run doubles, CJ Abrams hitting a two-run home run, and Josh Bell and Paul DeJong each getting multiple hits.

Gore threw six shutout innings with ten strikeouts, and the bullpen also didn’t give many chances to the Giants’ hitters.

San Francisco only got three hits and no runs when they had runners in scoring positions. Post-game, Verlander said, “The results have been frustrating.” Bob Melvin echoed the same sentiment as well: “Unfortunately, that probably is as disappointing a game as we’ve had all year… I’m frustrated [about] that.”

So, Verlander made history, but Washington dominated nearly every play—and that’s what ultimately mattered.