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 for burning sage and palo santo sticks in the clubhouse when the team is scuffling is unique (at least to the Tigers’ clubhouse). The way he dissects and personalizes the analytic and biometric data is unique.
So, it’s not really a surprise that he also has some unique dietary preferences. For example, you will never see him drinking water or anything else out of a plastic bottle. And that has nothing to do with being an environmentalist.
“No, it’s for health,” he said. “There are a lot of parabens in microplastics and water.”
Parabens are used to keep mold and bacteria out of things like cosmetics, skin-care products, food and drink. Biphenol A (BPA) is also used in plastics and has raised some health concerns in recent years. Lange isn’t taking any chances.
He stopped using plastic in December. He filters his tap water with his own alkaline water-filter purifier and stores it in a gallon-size glass pitcher and drinks out of a crystal glass.
“I’ve noticed the difference, for sure,” he said. “Energy, sleep, recovering, it’s all way better.”
Unique doesn’t mean weird or wrong. Whatever he’s doing — purified water, strict diet, personalized strength and conditioning program, etc. — it’s working. At 27, the Tigers’ late-inning reliever is lean, strong and healthy.
“I’m just trying to clean up as much as I can,” Lange said. “Just trying to leave no stone unturned as far as diet goes. Trying to get an advantage where I can.”
Oh, brother
Third baseman Andre Lipcius has been making the most of his limited at-bats this spring.
Most likely ticketed to start the season in Triple-A, Lipcius has doubled, hit a game-winning home run and put the ball in play with hard contact in his five at-bats. Which is not to be overlooked, for sure. But, on Wednesday morning, the questions were about his twin brother, Luc.
He and Luc played together at the University of Tennessee. Luc, who owns the school’s home-run record (40), played six years there, getting an extra year because of the pandemic. He finished his college career with a .947 OPS, slugging .534.
And he went undrafted.
“He was in a weird spot — 2020 was supposed to be his redshirt junior year,” Andre said. “He would’ve gone right after the fifth round, but he said he wasn’t going to sign for $20,000 because he’s really smart and he knows he could get more than that outside of baseball.”
True story. Luc is now an aerospace engineer for Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, Ga., where engineers typically make six-figure salaries. He’s doing all right.
Umpire-free baseball
By now, you’ve heard that the Orioles and Pirates finished up their spring game in Bradenton Tuesday without umpires.
By now you’ve heard that the Orioles and Pirates finished up their spring game in Bradenton Tuesday without umpires.
The home-team Pirates won the game but manager Derek Shelton needed to get an inning in for pitcher Ofreidy Gomez. Both managers agreed to play the bottom of the ninth, even though the game was over.
The umpiring crew, however, wasn’t having it. They left, leaving the catcher to call balls and strikes and the players to be on the honor system. The inning went without incident.
“That’s kind of a collision course of pretending like these are real games,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “But, we still want to accomplish something. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on the road and you lose the game late and can’t pitch in the bottom of the ninth.
“It’s an exhibition. It’s for the preparation of the players. I would have no problem if somebody wanted to do it, with or without umpires … But this should signal that these are practice games.”
Around the horn
… The MRI on right-handed pitcher Reese Olson’s lower left abdomen came back negative Wednesday. There was no strain. Hinch said Olson will resume camp activities, playing catch and working his way back throwing off a mound.
… Minor-league camper Steele Walker, who was struck by a pitch in the eighth inning in Dunedin Tuesday, fractured a bone in his right hand. He will be out indefinitely. “Really unfortunate for him,” Hinch said. “He was going to start coming over (to play in Grapefruit League games) a few times.” The 26-year-old outfielder made his big-league debut with the Rangers last season.
… Third-base prospect Colt Keith left camp Wednesday to tend to a family issue back in Mississippi.
… Infielders Jonathan Schoop (Team Netherlands) and Andy Ibanez (Team Cuba) will leave Thursday to begin WBC play in Taiwan. While they are gone, Matt Vierling will finally see some action on the infield. He’s played exclusively outfield in games to this point. He is expected to play third base, second base and maybe first base.
… Team Venezuela players Miguel Cabrera and Eduardo Rodriguez, as well as Puerto Rico’s Javier Baez will leave the team early next week. Conveniently for the Tigers, all three will be training in Fort Myers, where the Tigers play Grapefruit League games Sunday (Twins) and Monday (Red Sox). Baez and Cabrera could see action in one of those two games.
… Julio Rodriguez, a minor-league catcher in camp with the Tigers, has been invited to join Team Dominican Republic as a bullpen/emergency catcher.
Twitter: @cmccosky