Pirates' Don Kelly Has History With Justin Verlander That Hardly No One Knows About

The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to finish the 2026 campaign above .500, a promising step in the right direction. 

The Pirates will have the chance to do so against another non-playoff team, the Detroit Tigers. The series will be played at Comerica Park in Detroit, and there's a much bigger storyline than the Pirates trying to finish the year above .500. Future Hall of Famer and Major League Baseball legend Justin Verlander will pitch the final game of his career, with the hope and expectation that he's going to be able to give the Pirates a few innings for a fan base that desperately loves him. 

To make matters even more interesting, he has a history with Pirates skipper Don Kelly, who was with him when he made his Double-A debut back in 2005. 

Verlander, who already had a 100-plus-mph fastball at that point in his career, was blowing away hitters as the Tigers' Double-A team, the Erie SeaWolves, took on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 

Speaking to MLB.com, Kelly had a lot of good to say about his former teammate and the incredible career he's had.

“It's unbelievable the career that he's had, no doubt, first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Kelly said. 

“To play third base his first start in Double-A, and then to have the years that we had from '09 through '14, and then back again in 2019, my first year coaching … elite competitor. He's a winner, and just the way that he's gone about it and the success that he's had, it'll be cool to be there for his last start on Saturday.”

There's absolutely no debate that Verlander is going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and hopefully, for baseball's sake, he comes out over the weekend and throws the baseball at a relatively high level. Throughout the 2026 campaign, he hasn't done much, appearing in only one game for the Tigers, throwing 3.2 innings and allowing five earned runs. 

The back half of his career wasn't perfect, as he has struggled since 2024, but he posted a 3.15 ERA in 2023 with the New York Mets, including a 1.75 ERA with the Houston Astros in 2022. 

He has one of the most decorated careers in Major League Baseball history and deserves everything that will come his way this weekend.