Former Astros legend fuels Justin Verlander's desire to continue career with Giants

After an injury-plagued season in 2024, Justin Verlander's time with the Houston Astros came to a close. His career now takes him to the West Coast, where he'll pitch for the San Francisco Giants in 2025. Yet Verlander always has fond memories of his baseball hero's lengthy career.

Astros fans are very well aware of how much Nolan Ryan meant to the organization. Ryan, owner of seven no-hitters during his career, became an Astros legend. Many fans grew up listening to play-by-play announcer Milo Hamilton on the radio call talking about "The Alvin Express" (Ryan is a native of Alvin, Texas) and his 100-mph fastball. Let's not forget Ryan's unhittable slider, too.

As it turns out, Verlander, who made his first spring training appearance on Monday with the Giants, holds Ryan in high esteem. Both pitchers took their careers into their 40s, still able to get hitters out on a regular basis. Verlander didn't have a set age that he'd pitch into in the majors, but he did make it clear how much Ryan meant to him while growing up.

Former Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is chasing his childhood idol Nolan Ryan

“I always said I never wanted to put a number on it, but 45 has been kind of the idea that I’ve had,” Verlander said in an interview with The Athletic (subscription required). “Nolan (Ryan) was my idol growing up. He was able to pitch until 46. It wasn’t a particular goal, but it was something that I felt like I had the capability of doing.”

Last season was one that Verlander probably wants to write off. He finished 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA, striking out 74 in just 17 games over 90 ⅓ innings of work. In 19 seasons of major-league service, Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA in 526 career starts.

And what were Ryan's career numbers? In 27 seasons, he put up a 324-292 record with a 3.19 ERA. Of course, we cannot leave out his 5,386 career strikeouts. He left many hitters swinging at air or simply giving up in the batters' box. Ryan was inducted into Cooperstown back in 1999, a much-deserved recognition for the lanky Texan.

Ryan literally pitched until his arm snapped in a 1993 start with the Rangers. On Sept. 22, 1993, Ryan gave up five runs in a forgettable first inning against the Seattle Mariners. He threw a pitch for a strike but tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Ryan threw one more pitch, a ball, then immediately walked off the mound toward the Rangers' dugout. This ended an amazing career filled with memories across the MLB spectrum.

Watching Verlander pitch for the Giants will take some getting used to for Astros fans. Maybe he can take a page out of his hero's lengthy career and add some wins to his overall record. There's little doubt that Verlander will join Ryan in Cooperstown one day. Then, they will live together in MLB eternity.

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