Detroit News

Clearwater, Fla. — Turns out, manager AJ Hinch has a sentimental streak in him. In his lineup against the Phillies Friday were four ex-Phillies: Nick Maton, Matt Vierling, Cesar Hernandez and Donny Sands. The travel squad from Lakeland also included catcher Andrew Knapp and minor-league infielder Luis Garcia, both former Phillies. “I brought them all,”

Clearwater, Fla. — Count Eduardo Rodriguez among the strongest proponents of pitchers calling their own pitches. He used PitchCom to call all 33 of his pitches Friday in the Tigers’ 6-3 spring win over the Phillies — and, well, he loved it. “It feels good,” he said after retiring nine of the 10 batters he

Lakeland, Fla. — The Tigers hit fewer home runs than any team in baseball last season, 110 in 162 games. After clubbing three bombs in their 10-3 Grapefruit League win over the Orioles Thursday, they’ve now hit 15 in six spring games. So, manager AJ Hinch was jokingly asked afterwards, that whole power thing is

Lakeland, Fla. — As you might’ve guessed, Matthew Boyd was the first Tigers’ pitcher to experiment with calling some of his own pitches from the mound using PitchCom technology. He did so in his spring debut Thursday, putting the whole Matthew Boyd experience — the nasty slider, the pickoff move, the punch-outs, even the home

Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers manager AJ Hinch dropped something in the middle of a longer dissertation on Jonathan Schoop the other day that initially slipped through the cracks. He was talking about the club’s emphasis on getting Schoop, who has left camp to play for Team Netherlands, back to swinging at pitches in the strike

Lakeland, Fla. — Matt Manning sat in front his locker last week and basically gave a preview of how his first Grapefruit League start would go. “I’m kind of taking a different approach,” he said. “I’m just trying to ramp up in spring, where I don’t necessarily have my A-stuff all spring, but I can

Lakeland, Fla. — Alex Lange is unique. Plain and simple. The way his pitches move is unique — though hitters use other descriptive words like filthy, nasty and wicked. The sleeveless turtleneck he wears under his game jersey, even in the scorching heat of these spring games and live bullpen sessions, is unique. His fondness

Dunedin, Fla. — Matt Wisler has a chance to be a key part of the Tigers’ bullpen puzzle this season. But first, he needs to finish retraining himself to pitch. Strange thing to say about an accomplished, 30-year-old reliever in his ninth season, who last year posted a 2.25 ERA and held hitters to a

Dunedin, Fla. — Tigers lefty starter Joey Wentz was undaunted. The Blue Jays came at him with their A-team Tuesday, eventually beating the Tigers 6-4. The first four hitters, all right-handed, were George Springer, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and Matt Chapman. Not too shabby. But Wentz got through the first three on seven pitches.

Lynn Henning |  Special to The Detroit News Had the lottery balls tumbled just a tad more luckily in December, the Detroit Tigers would be tingling, as they and their cohorts prepare for the July 9-11 MLB Draft. They would be sitting with hole-card aces, sizing up two amazing college outfielders and right-handed sluggers who will

Lakeland, Fla. — It was about 1:45 p.m. Monday when Riley Greene, in a full lather, came back into the clubhouse. “Somebody’s been working,” he was told. “I’m always working,” he said. “If you catch me not working one day, I want you to write it. Like, “Riley Greene was out there just dogging it.’”

Lakeland, Fla. — His brother knew better. He even said so after that fateful game last October at Minute Maid Park in Houston. “I know what pitches he likes to hit,” Phil Maton said. And yet, with the crowd on its feet in the eighth inning of an otherwise meaningless regular-season finale, players from both

Lakeland, Fla. — Jake Rogers, wearing a cowboy hat as he sat in the clubhouse Sunday morning, didn’t need to look up the date. “July 18, 2021,” he said. That was the last time he caught in a competitive baseball game. He doubled in four at-bats that day, while helping Wily Peralta, Buck Farmer and

Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers’ third baseman Andy Ibanez came to bat with one out and nobody on in the third inning Saturday. He quickly got ahead in the count 3-0. He looked at third-base coach Gabe Alvarez, who gave him the green light to swing away. Ibanez peeked over to the dugout. “He kind of

Lakeland, Fla. — Riley Greene, as he did in 76 games last season, hit at the top of manager AJ Hinch’s lineup Sunday. And, as he has in all 93 games he’s played in the big leagues, he started in center field. But, as Hinch said Sunday morning, that won’t always be the case this

Lakeland, Fla. — There was a triple play. One Meadows brother homered on the first pitch he saw and the other Meadows brother swears the ball he launched over the Margaritaville Porch in right field two innings later was fair, though the umpires disagreed. There were 12 hits in the game. Thirty-seven position players and

Lakeland, Fla. — The Cuban flag is tattooed on his left arm. He was born in Havana and defected to the United States in 2014. That tells you all you need to know about how much playing for Team Cuba means to Tigers’ non-roster invitee Andy Ibanez. But here’s the rub: Ibanez is in a

Lakeland, Fla. — Say you are Rony Garcia and you’ve been told before camp started that your best path to making the Tigers’ Opening Day roster is as a bulk-inning reliever in the bullpen — which he was, as manager AJ Hinch said on Friday. Given how crowded that particular path is, it’s hard to

Lakeland, Fla. — A group of reporters encircled Tigers prospect Parker Meadows at his locker stall Friday. “How cool is it going to be for you and your brother, starting your first game together on Saturday?” he was asked. The stunned look on his face told the tale. He was getting this news for the

The work is just beginning — but a new, organized direction should help. Announced Thursday was the formation of the Negro Leagues Family Alliance, a group aimed at preserving “the legacies, history and intellectual properties of the Negro Leagues while contributing to the education and uplift of baseball and sports.” It’s often said that good