A little over 20 years ago, the Detroit Tigers made headlines when they selected Justin Verlander among Old Dominion University with the second pick in the MLB draft.

Verlander would make his Major League debut for the club in 2005, although he only made two starts that year, before joining the big club in 2006 and never looking back.

19 seasons and three teams later, Verlander entered free agency again in his long and storied career, likely for the final time before hanging up his cleats and riding off into the sunset.

Even though the best years of his career came with Houston Astrosincluding two World Series championships, the majority of his career was spent with the Tigers, and their fans haven’t forgotten how great he was with their team.

In 13 seasons with Detroit, Verlander posted a 3.49 ERA over 2,511 innings with 2,373 strikeouts and a 123 ERA+ over 380 games while winning the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006, American League Cy Young in 2011, American League MVP, also in 2011, Major League Triple Crown (you guessed it, in 2011), and was named an All-Star during six of those years.

It was a great time to be a Tigers fan, and with the team coming off an improbable playoff run, fans are clamoring for a reunion with the future Hall of Famer.

In a recent article for the Detroit Free PressMarlowe Alter read the results of a previous poll they had released to their readers asking what big move they wanted the team to make this offseason.

The poll received 4,144 votes, and “sign Justin Verlander” was the first to get votes with 1,260 of them, or 30.41 percent.

Verlander is coming off one of the worst years of his career, posting a 5.48 ERA in 90 1/3 innings in 17 starts, but the struggles may have been due to injury.

The veteran is currently 41 years old, and he’s not getting any younger, and it’s much harder for someone his age to fully recover from his injuries than it is for someone even 10 years his junior.

A full offseason could allow the veteran to get back on top of his game, but it will be interesting to see what contract is offered to him and from which teams.

Detroit can certainly use pitching depth, as their current rotation is Tarik Skubal followed by wing and prayer, so Verlander wouldn’t be a bad option if they could keep him healthy.

This would be a fantastic way to salute the veteran’s Hall of Fame career, while also giving fans what they want as they continue to work towards a perennial competition.