The final career start for Detroit Tigers legend Justin Verlander is signaling the close of a significant era in baseball: the decline of the workhorse starting pitcher. With 266 career wins, Verlander is unlikely to reach the 300-win milestone, a feat that may become unattainable for future generations of players.
The all-time pitching lists are unlikely to see further significant shifts. Cy Young holds the record for most wins with 511. Verlander, leading active pitchers, has 266 wins, placing him 37th all-time. At 21 seasons, Verlander will not reach 300 wins.
Factors contributing to the perceived end of this era include the increased prevalence of bullpens, earlier pulling of starters from games, and a rise in injuries as pitchers prioritize velocity, shortening their careers. The 300-win pitcher may indeed be a relic of the past.
Among active pitchers, Max Scherzer has 224 wins at age 42, and Gerrit Cole has 162 wins at age 35. For Cole to reach 300 wins, he would need to average 20 wins per season for the next seven years, maintaining an elite level through his mid-40s. Chris Sale, currently 37 with 159 wins, also faces an improbable path to 300 wins.
In contemporary baseball, 200 wins may be the new benchmark, akin to the former 300-win standard.
Strikeouts as a New Benchmark
While the 300-win threshold appears increasingly out of reach, Verlander and Scherzer are both members of the exclusive 3,000-strikeout club, a group that includes only 20 pitchers in MLB history. This milestone appears more attainable for current players.
Chris Sale has 2,779 strikeouts, and with another healthy season or two, he could surpass 3,000. Gerrit Cole, with 2,374 strikeouts and an average of 239 per full season, could also reach this mark within three more healthy seasons. Beyond these two, there are no other immediate candidates with a clear path to 3,000 strikeouts.
Other active pitchers with significant strikeout totals include Kevin Gausman (2,131), Yu Darvish (2,075), Sonny Gray (2,071), Jacob deGrom (2,047), Aaron Nola (2,045), and Zack Wheeler (2,008). However, reaching 3,000 would require remarkable durability and sustained production late into their careers.
Verlander's career has been defined by both durability and high-level production, making him one of the century's premier pitchers. His accolades include an MVP award, three Cy Young Awards, a Triple Crown, Rookie of the Year, 10 All-Star selections, two ERA titles, and two World Series championships.
He is considered among the best pitchers of his generation, alongside Clayton Kershaw, Scherzer, CC Sabathia, and Félix Hernández. These pitchers achieved multiple seasons of over 200 innings pitched, a rarity in today's game.
In 2011, Verlander's MVP season, he recorded a 24-5 record with a 2.40 ERA over 251 innings. Between 2007 and 2019, he surpassed 200 innings pitched in all but one season.
The Disappearing Workhorse
Verlander's career spanned the transition away from the traditional workhorse starter. In 2006, his first full season, 45 pitchers logged 200 or more innings. In the current season, with only a few starts remaining for some pitchers, that number has dwindled to just two: Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins (212 innings) and Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies (200 innings). Michael Wacha of the Kansas City Royals is close with 194 1/3 innings.
In 2025, only three pitchers reached the 200-inning mark.
While pitchers may still achieve significant inning counts, the era of the durable, high-volume starting pitcher, exemplified by Verlander, appears to be concluding. His career serves as a notable reminder of the evolution of the starting pitcher role in baseball.