You can never depend on Tork. He needs reinforcement.
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RA Dickey
Wilbur Wood
Don’t recall WW.
RA Dickey, him I recall.
Kevin McGonigle’s amazing start more impressive after contract extension
This 21-year-old arrived in spring training knowing he had a chance to make the Opening Day roster, which was incredible on its own considering he never played Triple-A.
Then, the Tigers approached him about the potential for an extension.
“In that conversation, before we ever talked numbers with his agents or anything like that, I thought it was really important to lay down a few guidelines here,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. “One, we wanted to reach a fair deal that he felt really good about, and the organization felt really good about. The market was changing at the moment, but we both committed to adapt to the market.”
But there was something else. Something more important.
“I committed to Kevin to separate the contract from the decision to get on the Opening Day roster,” Harris said. “I felt very strongly that it wasn’t right to hang that over his head. This team is trying to win the World Series this year, and if he’s one of our best, we’re going to take him with or without a contract. I wanted to make sure that we didn’t put any extra burden on 21-year-old shoulders in spring training.
OK, that’s good in theory. Admirable even.
But think about all that pressure on somebody who should be in his third year of college. He could have pressed, trying to impress the Tigers. He could have worried: if I make an error, will the millions disappear? If I don’t hit in spring training, will they table this talk and wait to see how I do? If I don’t make this club, will that be a factor, even if they said otherwise?
==
Spoiler alert: McGonigle did make the opening Day roster.
And, for a normal person, that pressure would have gone up even more.
Because remember, these contract negotiations were still going on in the background.
Like a giant winning lottery ticket just waiting to be cashed in.
People think baseball players are robots, but they aren’t.
The business side of the equation is always lingering in the background.
“We didn’t want to disrupt this team in any way,” Harris said. “So we tried to be very intentional about when we reached out about contract negotiations. We tried to limit it to off days or days when he wasn’t in the lineup, to try to give him every opportunity to separate baseball and business.”
Again, so smart.
==
“He had an incredible first series in San Diego,” Hinch said. “He’s continued that and beyond.”
And yet, while that was going on, in the background, they were talking numbers that could make your head spin.
“His overall vibe has never really changed,” Hinch said. “He’s very good at understanding the line that’s drawn between business and baseball, and it gives me a lot of confidence that he’s now going to handle the magnitude, the attention that’s going to come his way simply by signing the dotted line.”
Boom.
In that single quote, Hinch just summed up why I think this is so smart for the Tigers.
This kid is just different.
He doesn’t just have the physical tools. He has the mental toughness as well.
You think trying to make an Opening Day roster is hard? Try doing that with contract negotiations going on in the background.
But it didn’t bother him one bit.
“It didn’t seem like it affected him at all,” Harris said. “And for all the physical gifts I talk about, he’s got some clear mental gifts too, that were really impressive throughout this process.
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The more you read about McG the more you realize we have something really special.
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I love how when McG makes an error, he looks disgusted with himself. He has the heart, work ethic, and brains to go with the talent. And I didn’t realize how fast he is.
That dude didn’t get enough for his first home run though. He needs to renegotiate lol.
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Will there ever come a time when AJ will actually have the courage to start Colt Keith against LH pitchers?
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I do not understand Keith getting another day off. He’s been hitting the whole year and is easily one of our best two hitters. And you sit him 2 out of 3 games? Silly
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His numbers against lefties are terrible, but I wonder how exactly he’s supposed to improve that part of his game if he doesn’t face any left handed pitching.
If we get into an ALDS/ALCS and have to face the Yankees with Max Fried and Carlos Rodón, are we just going to not start Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith in those games?
I don’t know about that. He has a career average of .254 against lefties which isn’t great but it isn’t terrible. Plus that he is a much better hitter this year. I would expect that average to be much better this season.
Colt Keith’s career average against left-handed pitchers (LHP) in MLB is .254, based on his performance from 2024 through early April 2026. Data from RotoWire indicates a 2024 season split of .254 AVG against lefties, which serves as the primary career indicator for his Major League, left-on-left matchups.
RotoWire
RotoWire
Usage Examples & Context (vs. LHP):
2024–2026 Performance: Keith has demonstrated consistent, albeit lower, production against lefties compared to righties (.263) over his first two seasons
Agreed, it is one thing drives me nuts about Hinch and his lineup manipulations, it prevents players from improving on a weakness.
To be fair to Hinch, this does put the Hitters in positive situations to excel at the plate. His lineups are based on prior games bullpen usage by the other mgr and potential pen use on that specific day. Is a reliever not available, etc etc.
On the flip side Bubic is a very good young pitcher and in a too small sample size Keith is 0-4 against him.
Colt Keith has exactly one AB against lefties this year. IMO this is another AJ playing what he thinks are percentages. Just don’t see how you sit one of our two best hitters based on a hunch. Or in this case based on a Hinch.
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OTH, Keith has played in 9 out of last ten games so it may just be a planned day off when a lefty starts.
He just had the day off 2 days ago. He came in to pinch hit though.
Yep, against the first lefty the Tigers faced this year iirc
I guess that I see Keith as more than a platoon righty versus lefty bat this year. To me his massive improvement at the plate deserves a full time role.
It just sucks that our right handed bench options to try to counter the left handed pitching just suck at batting right now. If Jones and or Vierling can ever find their groove at the plate again it wouldn’t look so bad.
Lunch is over. Back to class.
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