Hinch looks back on complicated Tigers season

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The question was simple: What was this Tigers season like for manager A.J. Hinch?

The answer from Hinch was complex, largely because so was the season.

A team that has staked its fortunes to a group of talented young starting pitchers tied a franchise record with 17 different starting pitchers, only one of whom made more than 18 starts. Drew Hutchison, who was designated for assignment twice during the season, finished second on the team in innings pitched with 105 1/3.

An offense that seemed poised to break out instead finished with the fewest runs and home runs by a Tigers team over a 162-game schedule since 1904, the year before Ty Cobb made his Major League debut.

More important, amidst a 66-96 season, a team that seemed on the upswing back toward contention for the first time since 2016 took a step backwards and had to take a long look at its game plan, leading to the midseason departure of general manager Al Avila after 20 years in the organization.

Sometimes, such seasons are bumps on the road to contention. Many good young teams have had fallback seasons that remind them that success isn’t guaranteed by youth. Other times, they’re more the reality than the step forward. How the team responds is often the key to which.

“I don’t like losing,” Hinch said last week. “I’m not good at it. I don’t respond well to it. But I am the leader. I have to stand up and defend what we’ve done right and challenge us on the things we’ve done wrong.

“We had aspirations to make the playoffs and be more of a factor, and the bottom line is we haven’t done it because we haven’t played well. I take it personal. I don’t take it lightly. The amount of time and energy that me and my staff put in should be expected, but it also takes a toll when it doesn’t work out. We did a lot right. We did a lot wrong. I’m strong enough to stand up for both and do my part to make it better.”

Defining moment

The Tigers opened a six-game road trip on April 26 looking for a spark in Minnesota and seemingly got it when Javier Báez hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning at Target Field. But two walks and a Gregory Soto wild pitch set up a crazy walk-off play that began with a Miguel Sanó single off Robbie Grossman’s glove and ended with a botched rundown at third and an Eric Haase throw from the third-base line into left field. The Tigers took a 5-4 loss, scored two runs over their next three games, were swept out of Target Field, went 1-5 on the road trip, lost 16 of 19 over a three-week stretch and never recovered.

What we learned

The Tigers have even more quality young pitching than many believed going into the season, having pushed Beau Brieske, Garrett Hill and Joey Wentz to their rotation out of necessity. However, the season-long struggle to score runs showed that Detroit has a long way to go offensively. While youngsters like Spencer Torkelson, Akil Baddoo and even Riley Greene showed varying degrees of growing pains, Jonathan Schoop, Jeimer Candelario and other veterans suffered fallback seasons. Too many hitters struggled to put forth consistent, quality contact.

Best development

Greene recovered from the disappointment of a delayed Detroit debut due to a broken foot in Spring Training and quickly showed why he’s considered part of the Tigers’ core upon his arrival in June. He adjusted to big-league pitching, showed tenacious at-bats in lefty-lefty matchups and displayed a solid overall offensive approach from the top of the order, all while putting together a highlight reel of diving and leaping catches in center field.

Area for improvement

The Tigers struggled to put together runs -- any runs, in too many cases -- against tough pitching. Their 22 shutouts were the most by an American League team in the DH era and second-most in the franchise’s 122-year history. Detroit finished last in the Majors in runs scored, home runs, walks drawn and slugging percentage. Detroit showed better offensive approaches, curiously after new president of baseball operations Scott Harris emphasized dominating the strike zone in his introductory press conference, but the Tigers will be looking for a hitting coach who can develop a program around that goal.

“I can assure that the person [who is the next hitting coach] would believe in zone control,” Hinch said. “It was very, very well-articulated by Scott. I’ve been trying to talk about this for a number of years. ... I think the strength of the messaging is to reach the players and develop a philosophy that is consistent.”

On the rise

Torkelson had a rough rookie season, culminating in his return to Triple-A Toledo at the All-Star break. But while he hit just .219 upon his return to Detroit in September, he had days that reminded everyone why he was the top pick in the 2020 Draft and the top prospect in the Minor Leagues according to MLB Pipeline. His trio of three-hit games over the final four weeks matched his total from the entire first half of the season. He had five hits, including two home runs, in a doubleheader at Seattle. He still has plenty to work on this offseason, but his closing kick showed promise.

“I think we have no idea the responsibility that he feels and sometimes that he puts on himself about living up to expectations,” Hinch said. “I think the message is, ‘You did it. You made it through the most difficult part and now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.’ He worked really hard to get himself back, and we even witnessed him go down and then back up again when he came back.’

Team MVP

Statistically, Báez led the Tigers in most offensive categories as well as Wins Above Replacement, and the team was at its best when he was rolling. However, the team seemed to feed off Greene’s energy upon his midseason call-up, highlighted by his walk-off homer to straightaway center at Comerica Park to beat the Royals on July 2.

His offense faded after that strong start, but he learned along the way and improved as the season wound down, and he learned to take the offense he could find rather than trying to do too much.

“You learn a lot when you win, but you learn a lot when you lose,” Greene said. “Losing stinks. The last couple weeks we [played] really well, and that’s just the potential this team has.”