Kansas City, Mo. — Spencer Torkelson hit a rocket, 404 feet arching toward the seats next to the Tigers’ bullpen in left field.
It was in the sixth inning Saturday and the Tigers were already up 8-2. Torkelson thought it was gone. Everybody in Kauffman Stadium thought it was gone, including Royals center fielder Michael A. Taylor, who literally never moved an inch after the ball was hit.
Which had to be a horrible feeling for him when the ball hit off the top of the wall and caromed into left-center field. Had Torkelson been running hard out of the box, it would have been a stand-up, inside-the-park home run.
That’s how tardy Taylor was coming over and retrieving the carom that was rolling away from left fielder MJ Melendez.
Had Taylor backed up the play like he normally does, Torkelson would have been held to a double. And given how slow Torkelson was out of the box, he might’ve had a play at second base.
That play is served up here as an illustration — not so much about Taylor’s lackadaisical effort as in contrast to one of the things the Tigers have done exceptionally well this season. Outfield positioning, outfield communication, outfield hustle — it’s been a most under-the-radar strength.
Manager AJ Hinch immediately credited outfield coaches George Lombard and Gary Jones for establishing that as part of the culture.
“They have established that players have somewhere to be on every play,” he said before Sunday’s game. “You will see things that don’t impact a play. Like Victor Reyes (in left) backing up third base on an opposite-field double. You will see Willi (Castro) in right backing up second just in case there is a back-pick on a play at second base on a double down the left-field line.
“Your off outfielder always has somewhere to go. I hear George talk about that all the time.”
Watch center fielder Riley Greene. Watch his pre-pitch setup. Watch how quickly he reads and reacts to pitches and balls off the bat. Watch how he runs gap to gap and beyond to back up his corner outfielders.
It’s clinical.
“I think Riley takes it to the extreme,” Hinch said. “And when your middle of the field player is that committed, it rubs off on everybody.”
According to Sports Info Solutions, the Tigers are a plus-12 in outfield positioning this season, second only to the Blue Jays (plus-17). They were a negative in that metric last season.
“Players do it and never get rewarded for it except maybe once a homestand or once a road trip,” Hinch said. “But we’re sure going to like it that they’re there if a ball ever gets away. The play is not over until the ball is secured back in the pitcher’s hand.
“Just because you are not directly involved in the play doesn’t mean you don’t have somewhere to go. Baseball is unpredictable.”
The same concept is being preached to infielders, as well. There was a play last month where first baseman Harold Castro, out of nowhere, decided to back up second base on a shallow hit to left field. The runner from first went to third and the batter-runner took an aggressive turn around first.
The throw from the outfield was well wide of second base. Had Castro not been where he was, a run would’ve scored and another would have advanced into scoring position.
“We are always disappointed when we’re not ready for a play,” Hinch said. “We are rarely late to the spot.”
Which is why the misplay at second base between Castro and shortstop Javier Báez in the seventh inning Saturday was so odd. With runners at first and second and two outs, Báez charged a ground ball. Castro was at the bag at second but with Báez’s momentum going toward first, he didn’t expect a throw.
Báez went El Mago and flipped a no-look, across-his-body throw that completely eluded Castro. It cost the team two unearned runs.
“He threw it in the opposite direction without looking,” Hinch said. “It was chest-high, right at Harold. It was a playmaker play and it looked like it took Harold by surprise, even though he was right there.”
Maybe it doesn’t seem like much, details like positioning and off-the-ball defenders being in the correct spots, especially when a team is 31 games under .500. But these are foundational seeds that need to be implanted early and watered daily.
“We take pride in that,” Hinch said. “It’s part of the culture. It’s what is being taught in the minor leagues. … It’s hard to celebrate because it should be expected. But it’s one thing to talk about it, it’s another to do it.”
Hinch took the Astros to two World Series. He knows these are the elemental traits all championship teams possess.
“One of the things about good teams is they suffocate you with doing things the right way over time,” he said. “They’re always in the right spot, always doing the right things. It becomes your new normal. That’s what we’re trying to establish here.”
cmccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky
On deck: Astros
Series: Three games at Comerica Park, Detroit
First pitch: Monday-Tuesday — 6:40 p.m.; Wednesday — 1:10 p.m.
TV/radio: All games on BSD/97.1
Probables: Monday — LHP Framber Valdez (14-5, 2.64) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 4.13); Tuesday — RHP Hunter Brown (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Drew Hutchison (2-7, 4.08); Wednesday — RHP Cristian Javier (8-9, 3.01) vs. LHP Joey Wentz (1-1, 4.05)
Valdez, Astros: He is on a run of 23 straight starts of allowing three earned runs or less, holding hitters to a .212 average and .296 slugging in that span. He’s faced more hitters than any pitcher in baseball (697) and allowed the fewest percentage of homers over nine innings (0.5). He features one of the nastiest curveballs in the game, holding hitters to a .145 average with 101 strikeouts and a 44.6% whiff rate.
Rodriguez, Tigers: He got dinged for three home runs early in his last start at Anaheim, two on fastballs and one on a cutter. After that, though, he locked in and set down 16 of the last 17 hitters he faced to post a quality start. This will be his fifth start back after missing three months and he’s just about back to form.