Detroit — Kevin McGonigle is practically unflappable.
That’s one of the reasons why the Tigers’ shortstop is here in the major leagues at the age of 21, and it certainly helps explain why he’s a frontrunner for American League rookie of the year honors midway through this season.
But it’s also why his manager, AJ Hinch, was chuckling in the dugout Tuesday night, as the surging Tigers were on their way to a 6-2 win over the Athletics at Comerica Park.
It was McGonigle again serving as a catalyst, scoring the first run and driving in the last for the Tigers, who’ve now won six of their last seven to climb back into the AL playoff chase. And another 2-for-4 night at the plate meant he’d set another rookie record in the process, reaching base safely twice in a game for the 53rd time before the All-Star break, which tops the previous MLB mark set by the Yankees’ Aaron Judge back in 2017.
And when the public-address announcer made note of that in the seventh inning, Hinch took note of something else.
“That was a long announcement,” the Tigers’ manager said, smiling. “And I actually had a good time looking at him. He was so uncomfortable on the field as they’re talking about him. He wants to look at the scoreboard. He’s not sure if he’s supposed to tip his cap. I love when Kevin’s uncomfortable, because he’s not (when he’s) in the batter’s box.”
No, he’s not. And as uncomfortable as things have gotten for the Tigers in the first half of this season, it’s remarkable just how steady and self-assured the youngest player on the roster has been throughout.
“I don’t know what the ‘it’ factor is, but he has it,” said Hinch, whose team is now 6.5 games back in the AL Central and 5 games out of the final AL wild-card spot. “And he demonstrates it time after time. He takes it as a challenge every day to come ready to play. He’s been incredible, and he should get the recognition that he’s getting, because he’s earned it.”
That’s only part of what made this past weekend so special, though, as Hinch made the announcements about the Tigers’ All-Star selections in the visitors’ clubhouse in Texas. Outfielder Riley Greene was an obvious choice to make his third All-Star appearance, and so was catcher Dillon Dingler for his first All-Star nod. But a “super-nervous” McGonigle admits he had “a pit in my stomach” as he waited “to see if it was good or bad news.”
Good news is, he’s going, which means the Tigers will have three homegrown position players on an All-Star team for the first time since 1985, when catcher Lance Parrish and the infield tandem of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker made it. The bad news? McGonigle is going to need to round up at least a few dozen All-Star tickets for family and friends.
Because once this homestand ends in Detroit — capped off by a weekend visit from his hometown Philadelphia Phillies — McGonigle will be headed home himself, making his first All-Star Game appearance in the city where he grew up.
“I always dreamed about going to the All-Star Game in Philly — just to watch as a fan,” said McGonigle, who grew up in Aldan, Pa., just west of the city in Delaware County. “But now I’m gonna be able to watch and play in it, so it’s going to be an unreal experience.”
It’s real, though, what we’re all watching. And what we saw again Tuesday night is what we’ve been seeing all season, from the eight-pitch leadoff walk that preceded Colt Keith’s first-inning homer to the scorching line-drive single to center field that brought Matt Vierling home to cap a four-run sixth inning as the Tigers broke open the game.
“This guy is remarkable with his plan, and his execution,” Hinch said, shaking his head. “He has a couple funky swings early, he makes an adjustment. He sees the lefty the first time, and he makes an adjustment and hits a rocket.”
The red glare on his Statcast profile merely confirms all that, showing the color-coded competence and competitiveness you’d expect from a season veteran. McGonigle’s chase rate is in the 99th percentile and the red-hot numbers certainly don’t end there.
He ranks fourth among MLB position players in WAR, according to Baseball Reference, he’s seventh in on-base percentage (.395), and he is one of only nine qualified hitters in the majors this season with more walks than strikeouts. And among the handful with a higher walk rate than McGonigle this season, you’ll find perennial All-Stars and batting champs like Juan Soto and Luis Arraez. He has reached base safely 155 times already this season, eighth-most in baseball. And among rookies over the past quarter-century, only Judge (164) has topped that total. (McGonigle passed Ichiro on that list Tuesday night.)
‘This kid’s just built different’
“This kid’s just built different,” Hinch explained earlier Tuesday in an MLB Network Radio interview. “I mean, he can handle a lot thrown at him. And this is gonna be another thing that’s thrown at him that’s unique. I mean, who gets to go home at 21 years old and celebrate their first All-Star Game on the field with a lot of guys that he looked up to and that he looked to be like one day? And now he’s peers with them. But he can handle it. He’s gonna be excited. He’s gonna be intense.”
And as Tarik Skubal, the Tigers’ ace, joked after picking up the win Tuesday, “he’s probably gonna be pissed that he’s not out there for the first inning” as a starter.
Because that’s just the way he’s wired.
“He really is a gamer,” Skubal added. “He’s a grinder, and he’s been phenomenal for our team.”
McGonigle forced his way onto the Opening Day roster with the way he handled everything thrown at him in spring training. The pitches, the pressure, the expectations — he took it all and hardly flinched. And when asked Tuesday if this All-Star nod was something he envisioned back in April, he reacted in similar fashion. Not that you’d expect any different after watching him go about his business these last few months.
“Yeah, I’d definitely say it was a goal,” said McGonigle, who grew up a Phillies fan and idolized Chase Utley as a kid. “But with the work I put into it, and trying to go out and perform to the best of my abilities every day, to see something like that pay off is pretty special. Again, it’s in Philadelphia, so I had that in the back of my mind the whole season.”
And so did his parents, which is why the texts he sent his parents after getting the news — “I’m coming to Philly. I made it,” he wrote — hit home the way they did. Same goes for the phone calls later that night, including one that had his mother, Tracy, in tears.
But as for how he’ll feel next week when it’s his turn to live out that dream?
“I think it’s going to be like the home opener here when my name was announced and the fanbase went crazy,” said McGonigle, who’s planning to sleep in his own childhood bedroom over the All-Star break. “I remember coming out of camp, making the team and saying it hasn’t really hit me yet. But I feel like this is the moment when it’s all hitting me right now.
“And I think it’s just really cool that I’m able to go back, see family and friends and have them there a part of it. It’s going to be an unbelievable experience.”
john.niyo@detroitnews.com
@JohnNiyo
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Niyo: For Tigers’ McGonigle, All-Star dream hits home
Reporting by John Niyo, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By John Niyo, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
