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    • The Detroit Tigers are thriving under the magic of manager AJ Hinch
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    The Detroit Tigers are thriving under the magic of manager AJ Hinch

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

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    After Justyn-Henry Malloy lifted a high-arching sacrifice fly to center that stretched like a beautiful rainbow over Comerica Park.

    After Matt Vierling slid across home plate, clenching his fist and screaming, “Let’s go!”

    After Jason Foley completed it with pure emotion and desire.

    After another amazing, magical victory for the Detroit Tigers – so many people gathered together that everything was a blur.

    Manager AJ Hinch sat behind a table at Comerica Park, a smile on his face.

    “Does it feel like there’s a little magic in this run?” a reporter asked after the Tigers earned a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

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    Hinch laughed.

    “I don’t know, but if so, bottle it and take it on to the stadium,” Hinch said. “I think we believe in it. I said that over and over again while sitting at that microphone.”

    Yes, he believed that way back in August, when the Tigers had lost nine of 12 games and fell to 55-63 on August 10th. And he certainly believed Thursday afternoon after this team won and shrunk its fifth straight overall and 30th in 41 games. His magic number is two with three games left to play (and their trailer, the Minnesota Twins, play on late Thursday).

    “There’s a new energy every day because of what’s going on and what we think we can accomplish,” Hinch said. “Whether that’s the case magicwhether that is Momentumwhether that is Mojowhether that is MoodWhatever – we love it and we want more of it.”

    This also applies to Detroit.

    But how does this team do it? How do you explain how this team rose from the ashes – something so unlikely, so surprising and so damn fun?

    What did Hinch do to extract so much magic from these young people?

    I’ve spent the last week trying to figure it out.

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    The consistency

    As I walked through the Tigers clubhouse, I asked various players the same question: How did Hinch lead this team from such a big hole to the brink of the playoffs?

    “He’s the same guy,” catcher Jake Rogers said with a shrug.

    This may sound simple, but it is part of it. A big part of it. Hinch was the same guy whether they lost or won. He’s like an old man in the forest who never freaks out, holding a flashlight and showing these young people the way.

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    Be aggressive

    Hinch preaches being aggressive, being prepared and forcing the other team to make a play.

    In the eighth inning Thursday, with the Tigers down 3-2 and a pitch going into the dirt, Riley Greene didn’t hesitate and moved to second. That seemed to fire up the Tigers and put even more pressure on Tampa pitcher Garrett Cleavinger, who promptly ejected Vierling.

    Then everything developed perfectly. Greene scored on a Colt Keith base hit – but just as significant, Vierling advanced to third, was once again aggressive and set up the winning run.

    “We were really aggressive on the bases,” Keith said. “And I think in most cases it works out for us.”

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    Be prepared

    “Honestly, he’s the most prepared person I’ve ever seen in a profession and just a really sound decision maker,” Casey Mize said. “I think those are two qualities you need in a manager, but AJ takes it to another level.”

    And a big part of preparing is focusing on what matters most and putting in countless hours behind the scenes.

    One game at a time

    Hinch is used to playing under high pressure towards the end of a season. He appeared in 50 postseason games and won 28 of them.

    But he never talks about the future.

    “The best thing we can do is win today,” he repeats.

    Hinch has refused to talk about the possibility of a postseason while trying to shield his players and take the pressure off them. This may seem like a small thing, but not to Malloy.

    “It’s super important,” Malloy said. “I’ve been on teams, obviously not in the big leagues, but I’ve been on teams that talked a lot about how another team plays or how we compare to another team or whether that team wins or loses – blah, blah, blah. Obviously we’re all very aware and we all know what’s going on. But the reality is, if we don’t win today, it doesn’t really matter whether they won or lost.”

    Understand players

    Hinch has an interesting perspective when it comes to dealing with everyone in the squad, from the superstar to the guy at the end of the bench.

    Hinch played seven years in the major leagues and was a .219 hitter in 350 career games – an unremarkable career.

    He’s not afraid to say things like: I have no idea what it’s like to be Jackson Jobe.

    But he understands what it’s like to be a struggling player.

    “He has this understanding of how damn hard this game is,” Spencer Torkelson said. “And he knows what it looks like when you go through that. He knows how it feels. And he also knows what it looks like when a man still believes in himself. He can sense when there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So that’s something very special too.

    Torkelson has done it in points this season.

    Then do you know what Torkelson did on Wednesday night? He hit a home run and a double. Like a light breaking out of a tunnel.

    Be selfless

    Hinch has created a selfless culture in this Tigers clubhouse.

    “We trust him,” Kerry Carpenter said.

    On Sunday, Carpenter hit two home runs against Baltimore. But Hinch hit Malloy afterwards for him. “I know he’s making this decision for the right reason,” Carpenter said.

    On Thursday afternoon, Hinch put Torkelson in the six hole.

    Then Hinch pinch-hit Carpenter, and Carpenter promptly got an RBI.

    Then Hinch struck out Carpenter and pinch-hit Malloy for a pinch-hitter, and Malloy got the winning run.

    “AJ said he had a meeting before the game and kind of laid out his plan,” I said to Malloy. “How much did it help you to know when and in what situation you might appear?

    “AJ does a really good job of kind of predicting the game,” Malloy said. “It’s kind of weird how he kind of knows. It’s just this game of chess on a baseball field that’s great.”

    have faith

    Hinch has a bit of Ted Lasso in him.

    It’s all about belief.

    He believes in the players, sometimes before they even do it on the field.

    “He trusts us to go out there and do our job,” left-hander Tyler Holton said.

    position for success

    The entire organization is based on a simple philosophy: Put guys in a position to be successful by playing to their strengths, whether that’s bringing in a right-hander who can crush lefties or a certain type of pitcher against a certain one Part of the batting order.

    “We’re trying to do everything we can to put our best guys in the best situations to win as many games as possible,” Hinch said.

    And look at her now. They have a ridiculous 30-11 record since the run began on August 11th.

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    Keep things light

    The Tigers have a lot of young players on this roster. And these young people usually come to the majors and ask themselves: What will that be like?

    “He keeps things a little more light-hearted, especially for us young guys,” freshman left-hander Brant Hurter said.

    This lightness was invaluable during this powerful run.

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    Everyone is welcome

    If there’s one thing Hinch has cultivated, it’s a comfortable, welcoming clubhouse.

    This is why so many young players have moved up to the big leagues, settled in quickly and made an impact quickly.

    “I think the one thing that stands out about him is he’s just an extremely good communicator,” Matt Vierling said. “You could talk to him about anything. It doesn’t matter what it is. I think that’s what makes him such a good manager. He’s not intimidating. He is very approachable. He really tries to make the guys feel comfortable. He’ll come here and hang out in the locker room with us and just sit here and talk to us about college football or fantasy football or hypotheticals. It doesn’t matter. But it makes everyone feel comfortable.”

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    Add everything up

    So let’s try to recap what we saw on Thursday.

    We saw Hinch empty his bench and mix and match as the Tigers played unselfishly.

    We saw players on the bases acting aggressively and setting up this comeback.

    We’ve seen faith – oh, so much damn faith.

    We saw one one game after another Attack.

    We’ve seen the basics. A great defense. And some timely punches. And some clutch judder.

    We saw a pleasant, relaxed team that doesn’t seem to be aware of any pressure.

    We saw the results of communication and creativity – I swear the boys were all over the place.

    And we’ve seen boys put in the position to excel.

    Before you knew it, they were celebrating another victory.

    Is that magic? No.

    That’s what Hinch has been preaching all along.

    Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected]. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his latest columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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    Caradoc Wyn
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