CINCINNATI – Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson didn’t freak out.
Didn’t panic. Didn’t lose faith.
And neither did the Tigers.
Earlier this season, Torkelson was struggling at the plate. So, he just kept working. Sticking to his approach. Always believing it would turn around.
“I’m never looking at the numbers,” Torkelson said. “But they didn’t feel like they looked good.”
He laughed.
“But no, I just stuck with it,” he said after going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a homer in the Tigers’ 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, April 26.
Torkelson has now hit a home run in five straight games, tying the franchise record for a homer streak held by Marcus Thames (2008), Willie Horton (1969), Vic Wertz (1950), Hank Greenberg (1940) and Rudy York (1937).
“Even in high school, have you ever had a stretch like this?” I asked him.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said.
If anything, this turnaround – and this remarkable streak of homers – is a testament to his belief and persistence.
“He just keeps playing,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think everybody thinks there’s these big changes when somebody starts to break out.”
But that’s not the case in this case.
“More than anything, just the resolve to keep playing and handle whatever is thrown at you,” Hinch said. “Sometimes that’s some tough times. So, are there subtle adjustments? Sure, getting a little bit better pitch to hit, of course. But it’s not these changes that that people want – oh, that’s the magic pill. It’s trust and continuing to do the work, knowing that you belong in the moment.”
From ice cold to sizzling hot
In the seven games before this stretch of homers, Torkelson was ice cold, going 2-for-23 with a double. He struck out eight times with three walks.
“We all have our struggles,” Tigers catcher Jake Rogers said. “Honestly, he’s always had it in him. He’s such a good player. That’s a big-leaguer. Him coming back like that is just the ultimate, ‘Here I am, you know, I’m this good. I belong in this league.’ So we knew he had it in him. But five homers in five days? It’s pretty incredible. I’ll take that. He’s raking right now, man. And when you’re hot, you’re hot, and he’s riding the line pretty good. That’s a big bat in our lineup, and we want him to keep going.”
In his past five games, Torkelson has put up some amazing numbers. Not only has he hit the five homers, but he has two doubles and two walks, going 8-for-19 (.421) while striking out four times.
“It’s unbelievable,” Kevin McGonigle said. “He is a great hitter, and I don’t think anyone in here is surprised about it, because of the work he’s been putting in, every day, just to go out there and help us win. It’s been paying off.”
It’s a heck of a lesson for somebody like McGonigle, the star rookie, to see somebody struggle and work their way out of it, while not freaking out.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned from him is just the way he handled himself through a bad stretch, which it’s not even that bad of a stretch,” McGonigle said. “It was really, really special to see that and learn from it.”
His teammates all saw the same thing
On Sunday afternoon, I went around the Tigers clubhouse, talking to different players about Torkelson, and they all brought up his work in the cage.
“It’s awesome to watch,” Riley Greene said. “It starts in the cage for us.”
That’s the true secret to Torkelson’s success.
“People don’t see what goes on behind the scenes,” Colt Keith said. “The coaches know, we all know he’s been working through this. He wasn’t playing up to his standard in the last couple weeks. We all knew it was eventually going to come. And I’m proud of the way he went about his work.”
After Torkelson hit his first home run of this stretch – in a 5-2 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday – Torkelson had an interesting conversation with former Tigers great Kirk Gibson.
“I love Gibby,” Torkelson said. “I said hi and I was like, ‘I finally hit one.’”
And Gibby was pure Gibby.
“He said, ‘Tough times make it even sweeter,” Torkelson said. “Then, he asked me, ‘How sweet is it? That’s why you do it. That’s why you kind of battle through.’”
“It was a cool conversation.”
So, yes, this is sweet as heck.
After all the struggles.
After all the work.
“Just seeing the ball well and just proud of the way I’ve stuck with my plan and my approach because you kind of start drifting like, ‘Oh, let’s try to hit another one,’” Torkelson said. “But that’s how you start digging. It feels good. I definitely seeing the ball well, and I’m putting my A-swing on a lot of pitches.”
So, that’s the true secret to this string of success.
Torkelson has worked his butt off, putting in the work behind the scenes, grinding through the struggle. And when those homers started to come, he didn’t chase them.
He is just letting them happen.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Spencer Torkelson has gone from ice cold to HR machine for Tigers
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
