DETROIT — How is this for insight into the mind of one of the greatest pitchers baseball has ever seen?Less than two hours before Justin Verlander sat down in front of a microphone at Comerica Park, he sent out a heartfelt post on social media, announcing his intention to retire at the end of the season. The post talked of the challenges Verlander has faced, the battles he has waged against time, and also all the lessons and blessings this game has given him.Then, at 3 p.m., he took a seat for a news conference that was supposed to be about the end.“I feel like I’m plugging holes in a boat,” Verlander said. “Just looking at time, the game, how the game is played now, things that I have left to accomplish … I think the writing was on the wall.”On one hand, there is always a strange sadness that arises when a legend walks away.On the other hand, there is perhaps no better glimpse into the instincts that make some athletes great than their stubborn quest for one last triumph.Verlander wanted to be clear. His career is not over. Not yet.He has made only one start this season, an outing in Arizona in which he surrendered five runs in 3 2/3 innings. He has been on the 60-day injured list with a hip issue and now a left hamstring strain. But he still aspires to pitch again in the major leagues.That comeback, it appears, will be his final summit.“This is where it’s kind of awkward,” he said. “I do want to focus on playing the rest of the season. … I think there will be a time to really sit here and reminisce and focus more on the actual retirement, as opposed to right now; my focus is still to get out there and be the best version of myself that I can be for this team.”Verlander announced his intentions to retire on the heels of MLB’s Wednesday announcement naming him to the All-Star team as a “Legend Pick”. It will be the 10th All-Star selection of his career.Verlander said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has known of his intentions to retire. They agreed to announce the decision ahead of time, in part to free Verlander from a barrage of questions about his future during All-Star week.“I thought it was just a better decision to paint a clear picture of why I’m there,” Verlander said.Whenever it’s official, Verlander will go down as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer when his time comes. He currently has 266 career wins and a 3.33 ERA. His 3,554 strikeouts rank eighth all-time.At 43, he is the oldest player in Major League Baseball and also the oldest in all of major North American pro sports. This offseason, he signed a one-year, $13 million deal to return to the team that drafted him and come home to the city where he first rose to fame.He was supposed to make a much-anticipated return to Comerica Park in April, but was scratched on the day of that start and went on the injured list.What was supposed to be a quick recovery from hip inflammation turned into a long, slow slog. Verlander threw off the mound and faced hitters but struggled to summon or sustain his usual stuff. He made a rehab outing and was again scheduled to pitch in Detroit, only to go on the shelf with a hamstring issue.“I feel like I pulled the rug out twice, and it really gutted me,” Verlander said. “I hated doing that. It’s something I envisioned from the moment I signed here… being back on that mound in a Tigers uniform. I wanted (it) just as bad as anybody else. It’s definitely part of the motivation to continue to put the work in as necessary.”In the days since, Verlander has mined emotional spaces he had never before touched. He began having conversations with teammates and athletes from other sports. How do you know when it’s over?Before, words like “retirement” had hardly entered his mind. Sharing such thoughts with others was a sign of where his mind had wandered.Verlander told his Tigers teammates the news before Tuesday’s game. Left-handed ace Tarik Skubal — who sat in the back of a cramped room and watched Verlander’s news conference — was preparing for his start and missed Verlander’s impromptu announcement. Skubal later joked that he was disappointed.“I was like, ‘Come on, man,’” Verlander said, “I’ve been alluding to this for a month now.”Verlander’s family — his wife, Kate Upton, plus a 7-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son — spent most of June in Detroit. They were with Verlander on the field for Father’s Day. The rare time with loved ones had an impact on Verlander and perhaps led to further thoughts about life after baseball.“That’s something that’s been more and more on my mind as this season in particular has gone along,” he said. “They were up here most of last month, and (I) had a great time with them, and spending more time with them kind of made me see the other side of things.”Wednesday, though, Verlander was only willing to go so far when it came to reminiscing or looking ahead to a life after the game.There is still a competitor here, even if Verlander is willing to cede his quest for 300 wins and 4,000 strikeouts — milestones it might be difficult for any pitcher to ever again near and markers Verlander said “are going to require a lot more time that I don’t know if I have.”After debuting in 2005, he became a generational talent and spent the first 13 seasons of his career etching a legacy as a Detroit icon. A 2017 trade sent him to the Houston Astros, where he captured two World Series rings and won his final two Cy Young Awards. Verlander spent the first half of 2023 with the Mets before returning to the Astros. Last season, at age 42, he posted a 3.85 ERA for the San Francisco Giants.Since returning to Detroit, Verlander has formed a connection with a younger generation of Tigers pitchers, including Jack Flaherty (left) and Tarik Skubal (right). (Junfu Han / Detroit Free Press)Now 21 years into his career, even with his body showing what he called “more than flashing yellows,” Verlander is still hoping to go out on something close to his own terms.Shut down from throwing since his hamstring injury, Verlander is now scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Thursday. That session should provide more clarity for the path back to major-league action.“He feels good about the strength he’s built,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think he’s excited that he’s going to be tested again. We have a road ahead to get to pitching in the big leagues. A good first step is a productive bullpen tomorrow.”The Tigers are 41-50, trying to scratch their way back into playoff contention after a first half where Verlander’s return and so many other things did not go according to plan. Despite periods of struggle, the team has a 3.14 ERA since June 1, the best mark in MLB. It’s enough to create questions about how Verlander would fit in if the Tigers were to keep winning. If they were to falter and sell at the trade deadline, a Verlander farewell might become more palatable.Verlander, though, believes he can pitch again for this team. He wants to contribute rather than watch from the bench.“That’s not who I am,” he said. “That’s not how I got to where I am.”And with that in mind, Verlander did not want Wednesday to be a trip down memory lane. He hopes the grand farewell is still ahead.“I’ve always said I want to play until the wheels are falling off,” Verlander said before motioning toward his left leg. “I joked with you guys not long ago that maybe this is falling off. It seems it is. But it’s not done yet, and neither am I.”