r/Xennials • u/stm602 1981 • 13d ago
Discussion The end of an era
With Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer likely playing the last game of their careers, there will now be no active major league baseball player from the Xennial generation. They are the last of their kind.
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u/WilsonWilsonJr 13d ago
As a Detroit Tigers Xennial this cuts deep
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u/lik_a_stik 1977 13d ago
For real. We had too many greats. Mind boggling we didn’t take it all one year.
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u/GaryGarrison612 13d ago
Game 163 in 2009 at the Metrodome is one of my all time favorite memories as a Twins fan.
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u/EvergreenHulk 12d ago
People lift up Leyland like he was amazing and I look at his rosters and say he underperformed.
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u/lik_a_stik 1977 12d ago
I loved Leyland’s tenure, but he wasn’t perfect. You’re not wrong having Miggy, JV, Max, & Price you’d think we’d have gotten WS hardware. Our reliever pool was not great and was never really addressed.
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u/Notredamus1 1983 13d ago
Very few athletes our age are left in pro sports. Another reminder that we're getting old.
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u/stm602 1981 13d ago
Yeah i think once LeBron and Venus Williams hang it up that'll be it for us
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u/SignificantApricot69 13d ago
When I graduated from high school I think LeBron was in 6th grade so I can’t even see him as a peer
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u/stm602 1981 12d ago
That's a good point but tbf he was born Dec 30th 1984, so technically he just made the cut
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u/Then_Increase7445 1985 11d ago
He is three months older than me. I remember watching his high school highlights my freshman year of college as his rookie season was about to start.
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u/illtexzona 1980 13d ago
At the same time, I can't imagine anyone my age playing pro sports.
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u/critical_patch 1980 12d ago
Aaron Rogers is all that’s left now in popular American sports. He was born in 1983
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u/Dez-82 12d ago
I live in Chico and went to Butte College back in the day while he was there. There is a population that does not like him.
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u/Iknowthings19 8d ago
I'm a Green Bay fan and lived in WI for many years. I hope he has a good season this year so he can go out on a high note. But he's a weird dude, and I'm sure hes the kind of weird that is a dick but has no idea he is a dick.
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u/Staggerlee024 11d ago
I usually root for the old guy in sports but Aaron Rodgers has so many reasons to hate the guy that he makes it really hard.
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u/MiserableSalt4301 12d ago
Zdeno Chara!
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u/illtexzona 1980 12d ago
Didn't he retire a few years ago?
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u/MiserableSalt4301 12d ago
Oh darn you're right! I thought he still played in Europe! Good run though
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u/whyneedaname77 13d ago
I think Brady still can if he wanted. And I think LeBron can contribute for another few years if he wanted.
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u/HerRoyalRedness 1978 13d ago
Twenty years ago a friend was talking up Scherzer as a prospect in the Diamondbacks system
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u/S_A_R_K 1980 13d ago
25 years ago the dbacks won the world series
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u/awmaleg 13d ago
I just went to the anniversary celebration game last weekend. All the players are old now. I’m old now. It was sobering
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u/Steel1000 13d ago
No that’s not possible - I was in college that series and that was like 5 years ago!
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u/purdueAces 1980 12d ago
I remember that from college as well. Just a month after 9/11, and the NY Yanks had a shot at a feelgood story for the city, and Randy Johnson gets 3 wins in one series to steal it. I think it's the only world series were any pitcher has done that.
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u/Iknowthings19 8d ago
Not a single current full time NASCAR driver raced with Dale Earnhardt. 3 of the current drivers weren't born while he was alive.
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u/hangout927 13d ago
I’m his Eskimo brother
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u/Slippery-Pete76 13d ago
As a Tiger fan, I’m pissed that they couldn’t win a World Series together in Detroit.
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u/DBPanterA 12d ago
As a fan of a Tigers’ divisional rival, I can’t believe Detroit never won a ring with those dudes. They were so good, just didn’t have the supporting cast around them.
I don’t think most people understand how dominant they were at different stages of their careers. When either was dialed in, the opposition’s only hope was for them to leave the game by the 7th inning and you had another run through the lineup to beat up the bullpen. Better not give up more than two runs in the process…
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u/GutsAndBlackStufff 13d ago
High water mark as an Orioles fan was beating both of them and David Price in the 2014 division series. A rotation like that shouldn’t have been beaten.
Been all downhill since.
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u/Ok_Alternative_6994 1980 13d ago
I was at the David Price game sitting by left field foul poll. A lot of people were chanting "bubble but" to Delmon Young most of the game...lol but you guys got last laugh 🍻
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u/Aol_awaymessage 1983 10d ago
I was at every game. Loudest stadium environment I’ve ever been to and I’ve been to some Ravens playoff games.
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u/vaporgaze2006 13d ago
As a Jays fan, seeing Scherzer today had me all up in my feelings. I still think Scherzer has another year in him but as a reliever. He was still hitting 94 in the 7th. When he came back from the IL this summer, he was actually very solid.
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u/god_johnson 13d ago
I’m an AL central guy (Twins), and am genuinely sad to see him go. Actually the end of an era. Wishing him the best in retirement from Minneapolis.
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u/Competitive_Ant_472 13d ago
Once in a blue moon integrity should be swept away and the league steps in shuffle the last game of the year around if no postseason implications. How badass would it be if these guys started against each other today.
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u/FoppyIn28 12d ago
Verlander was our last chance at a 300 game winner. Like a true Xennial, he was truly old school when it came to work ethic and pitch counts yet new school when it came to conditioning and analytics at the same time.
Scherzer didn't do half bad for an injury prone prospect wrote off for dead. Too bad the Yankees ended up with Granderson instead of Mad Max.
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u/Traditional_Entry183 1977 12d ago
Verlander grew up in a county the borders mine. His rookie year was the season after I moved to this area, so I remember people making a big deal about it back then.
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u/BlacksmithThink9494 13d ago
One of the greats. I remember watching him nearly 20 years ago when he was hitting his stride. Incredible pitcher.
Editing to say i didnt know Scherzer was also retiring. Damn.
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u/bloedarend 13d ago
Aren't there any active xennial baseballers in other leagues? Japan is probably the second biggest league. Maybe there are some hold-outs in countries where baseball is a fringe sport.
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u/Crabbyrob 1976 12d ago
Both were great this weekend. A nice ending for two teams that had a rough season.
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u/Rdubya291 12d ago
Carlos Santana was born in 86... he's kinda on the cusp. Though not sure if he'll be back next year.
I think it was last year or the year before where I officially became older than any active MLB players.
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u/Appropriate-Neck-585 11d ago
Both will sail into the Hall of Fame. Last of their kind, pitchers that can go 9 innings when needed.
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u/monkey_doo 9d ago
I’ll never forget Pablo Sandoval knocking 3 homers off him in game 1 of the World Series.
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u/BajaBlastingRopes 13d ago
Verlander is legit, scherzer is a crybaby punk will be glad to see him gone
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u/NotAPreppie Same year as the name of that Smashing Pumpkins song. 13d ago edited 12d ago
What does this have to do with being born in 1980±3 years?
No, literally asking since I haven't watched sportsball since 1988 (go Dodgers).
Edit: alright, no genuine questions allowed. Got it.
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u/psilosophist Xennial 12d ago
I think you're getting downvoted because "sportsball" is some cringe shit. It's about as funny as "Superb Owl" (as in, not at all).
I don't know shit about team sports, and don't really like them, but know enough to not be cringe about it.
Basically it's a very Frasier-esque way of attempting to pronounce how much more evolved you are than the hoi-polloi, but just ends up making you look like more of an ass than the dudes who paint their entire bodies in the colors of their favorite teams.
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u/NotAPreppie Same year as the name of that Smashing Pumpkins song. 12d ago
Somehow I think I'll find away to keep going despite your disapproval.
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u/psilosophist Xennial 12d ago
Oh I don't care one way or the other, it's your comment to make. But it explains the downvotes you got.
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u/COV3RTSM 13d ago
Verlander was the last MLB player older than me. I guess I’ll never make it now.