This is it. In all likelihood, Tuesday in Philadelphia is the last time that legends Justin Verlander and Kate Upton will walk the MLB All-Star Red Carpet.
At least as a member of an MLB roster. Verlander, the All-Star Game “Legend Pick,” is calling it a career at the end of the season.
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The future Hall of Famer threw cold water on the idea of making a comeback while on the red carpet. He was asked about his retirement and what it would take to keep him from calling it quits.
He replied, “I don’t know if there’s much you can do at this point.”
Verlander, 43, then added that his teammate Tarik Skubal has been telling him that all the best come back. This prompted a comment about him training and popping up at the trade deadline ready to be signed next year.
“Sure. Here we are at the All-Star Break and I can’t get healthy and pitch…,” he said of the idea. “But hopefully, I get healthy in the second half, you know? You know that’s what I’m trying to do.”
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The reality is that baseball is a young man’s game. At 43, Verlander knows that’s the case. He’s focusing on getting healthy in the second half and riding off into the sunset.
The game of baseball and the red carpets that come with success are for a new generation. They’re for the likes of Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne.
They’re for Brandon Marsh and his mom, sister and girlfriend. And the game and the red carpets are for guys like Corbin Carroll and his girlfriend Emma Broyles.
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But that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve one last red carpet appearance from Justin Verlander and Kate Upton. They’ve earned it and so have we.
Cue the music as we thank them by taking a look back at some of their past All-Star Game Red Carpet appearances. What a run.
We’ll see them in Cooperstown in a few years.
