SEATTLE — Detroit Tigers players were buzzing in the clubhouse before Wednesday’s regular season finale against the Seattle Mariners. Left-handed pitchers Eduardo Rodriguez and Andrew Chafin, two veterans on the roster, organized an activity for the rookies and second-year players.
They were tasked with walking half a mile from T-Mobile Park to Starbucks, ordering coffee for everyone in the organization and returning before the game. Before the trek, the players dressed in their full uniforms.
“It’s a perfect group of young guys to carry out this task,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
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Before the youngsters left the clubhouse, 39-year-old veteran Miguel Cabrera tossed on a jacket and went with them. He appeared several times on Akil Baddoo’s Instagram livestream. Other veterans, such as Rodriguez, Chafin and Javier Báez, patiently waited in the clubhouse for their coffee to arrive.
Hinch ordered a tall iced latte with almond milk.
“(Ryan) Kreidler is the one that took my order,” he said. “He’s personally responsible. It’s not anything I’ve ever ordered before in my life. Literally I was just trying to make it difficult. It’s a fun group.”
Cabrera, who has 20 years in the majors, chaperoned the excursion. He didn’t play Wednesday against the M’s.
“I think Miggy just wanted to show more people his haircut,” Hinch joked.
Five players at Starbucks were in Wednesday’s starting lineup: Baddoo, Kreidler, Brendon Davis, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson. They collected orders on paper and read them to Starbucks staffers.
It was a long list.
Assistant general manager Sam Menzin, on his final day as the point of contact for the big-league team, ordered a grande iced vanilla latte.
“We did say, ‘If you run into trouble, send Tork and Greene and the guys that are going to play, and let Garrett Hill and some of the pitchers handle the duty of bringing it back,'” Hinch said. “I’m surprised that you guys (media) didn’t get asked for what you want. We left no restrictions, other than, ‘You better not screw it up.'”
The Tigers originally planned a coffee run Sunday in Detroit, with the players walking to Madcap Coffee Company downtown. But the Lions had a home game at Ford Field against the Seattle Seahawks, so the streets were packed.
“And then, why not in Seattle?” Hinch said.