'A pitcher's best friend': Meadows' D could be X-factor in ALDS

CLEVELAND -- For a Tigers team that has superbly exercised a formula of riding an army of bullpen arms on days that it’s not starting its frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award, there are plenty of under-the-radar names that could be pivotal if Detroit is to advance in this American League Division Series against Cleveland.

But one X-factor for this stealthy bunch could be the defensive artist who's masterfully manned center field.

Parker Meadows, after all, has been front and center for some of the Tigers’ biggest plays in this season of surprise.

“That guy is a pitcher's best friend,” reliever Will Vest said on Friday ahead of Game 1 at Progressive Field. “I know double plays are supposed to be our best friend. Parker Meadows is our best friend. It's good to have him back there.”

It’s not just that Meadows has bailed out his pitching staff in many of these key sequences. They’ve also served as momentum-seizing moments for Detroit’s offense.

“It definitely helps the momentum, for sure,” Meadows said. “I've been trying to make plays the whole year for the team, and you see everybody else making plays, and it's big for the team. To be able to come in the dugout and celebrate with the boys and carry it into us hitting, it definitely helps.”

Here are four such examples so far in 2024, and why Meadows’ glove will be worth watching in this best-of-five bout:

Silence in hostile Houston
Date: Wednesday
What happened next: Tigers secure Wild Card Series sweep

Shortly after Andy Ibáñez’s heroics in the eighth inning, Meadows ensured that there would be no Houston comeback. It was a tall task given the opponent -- a postseason juggernaut -- and the environment, as things can flip quickly within the quirky dimensions of Minute Maid Park. With two outs in the ninth, Meadows raced 85 feet into the right-center gap on a 105.9 mph liner from former World Series MVP Jeremy Peña and forcefully slammed into the wall. Vest then induced a game- and series-clinching groundout to Mauricio Dubón.

A beauty in Baltimore
Date: Sept. 22 @ BAL
What happened next: Carpenter hits decisive homer

With two outs in the fifth inning and the game tied at 3, Meadows raced 128 feet to his left in 6.2 seconds, timed his jump perfectly and yanked back a would-be two-run homer from Colton Cowser that would’ve proved decisive on the game’s final outcome. The play had a 35% catch probability, per Statcast, and it halted Baltimore’s rally. In the top of the next inning, Kerry Carpenter blasted a solo homer that wound up being the day’s final run in a massively important win, as there was only one week remaining in the AL Wild Card race.

A Royal rundown
Date: Sept. 17 @ KC
What happened next: Meadows later drove in the go-ahead run

Meadows typically plays deep -- among 51 qualified center fielders, his average starting depth of 329 feet was second highest -- which is perhaps a byproduct of playing at cavernous Comerica Park. But that approach served him well when running after a 398-foot liner from Hunter Renfroe at Kauffman Stadium, which Meadows had just 4.4 seconds to chase down. As the third out in the third inning, it stranded two and preserved a 1-all tie, which Meadows broke in the 10th with a go-ahead bloop single into shallow left. The Tigers were outside the playoff picture by just 1 1/2 games at the time, and they pulled into a tie for the final AL Wild Card spot two days later.

The Seattle stunner
Date: Aug. 7 @ SEA
What happened next: It sparked their late-summer turnaround

The Tigers have many moments to point to when their season turned, but the home run robbery of Cal Raleigh at T-Mobile Park ranks near -- or at -- the top. With two outs and one on in the eighth inning, the Mariners’ burly backstop crushed a 396-foot blast that appeared destined for another clutch moment in a young career that’s been full of them for Raleigh. But Meadows timed the ball perfectly then leveraged every inch of his 6-foot-5 frame to extend his glove over the wall and keep it in the yard. Per Statcast, the liner carried a .720 expected batting average and would’ve been a homer in four ballparks. Entering that series, Detroit was 53-60 and had just 0.2% playoff odds, per FanGraphs. Since then -- including their two-game sweep in Houston -- they are an MLB-best 35-16.