New York — Will Vest is generally the ringleader when it comes to these post-game celebrations. He has an uncanny knack of knowing when somebody earned their first big-league save, or win, or got their first big-league knock.
Or, in this case, their 1,000th managerial win.
“I’ve been waiting on that one,” Vest said. “I’ve been trying to get him in a cart for a couple of years.”
The Tigers mobbed manager AJ Hinch in the clubhouse after they beat the Yankees 7-3 Monday night. They got him in the laundry cart, wheeled him into the shower and doused him with all kinds of liquids, mostly beer.
“It’s a great feeling to get to a milestone with this group of players,” said Hinch, still soggy from the celebration. “I told them, this game is about players. It’s always been about players. But this is my third organization. To be able to manage this long and get to this number, it’s a really cool feeling.”
Hinch is the 68th manager to reach 1,000 wins. He and the Reds’ Terry Francona (2,006) are the only two active managers with at least 1,000 wins. He is the fifth manager to get win No. 1,000 with the Tigers. The others were Hughie Jennings (1907-1920), Chuck Dressen (1963-1966), Ralph Houk (1974-1978)( and Sparky Anderson (1979-1995).
“It was really cool,” said Casey Mize, who pitched brilliantly, allowing just one hit over seven innings with a career-high tying 10 strikeouts. “We love to celebrate when players reach certain milestones. To be able to celebrate our leader was really cool for us.”
Mize, who lowered his ERA to 2.63, in one of just a handful of Tigers who have been with Hinch from the beginning, when he took over in 2021.
“It’s rewarding to see how far we’ve come from when he first got here,” Mize said. “And how much things have changed. He’s been at the forefront of that. I’m very proud and happy for him.”
Justin Verlander, who won a World Series with Hinch in Houston, spoke to the team about Hinch after the shower. Other players also spoke.
“There were some great words,” Hinch said. “I will always say the game is about the players, but it takes a long time to get a milestone and I hope there’s many more ahead. It’s important in this game to think back where you came from. This is my third organization. There were general managers and presidents who have continued to believe in me and it hasn’t always been a smooth ride, I’m well aware of that.
“And I hat-tip all the managers who came before more me. I don’t want to stop now.”
That the Tigers took charge of this game right out of the gate after losing back-to-back, late-inning, spirit-sucking games to the Astros at Comerica Park over the weekend, was a testament to the resilient, win-the-game-today culture Hinch has built.
“I’ve been saying it all year,” said rookie Kevin McGonigle, who had two hits, two RBI and scored a run. “All the work we’ve put in and the way we push each other to get better each day. Sometimes it hasn’t gone our way this year but I feel like the way we show up to the field with the same mindset everyday and the way we push each other is a special thing.”
The top of the Tigers’ batting order – which for the first time this season did not include Riley Greene, who was given the start off against Yankees’ lefty starter Ryan Weathers – did most of the damage.
“Just apply pressure from the very beginning,” Hinch said. “Ding (Dillon Dingler) kickstarted it with a double and Tork (Spencer Torkelson) got the two-out RBI and we got him to 60 pitches pretty early. We batted around and we didn’t let him off the hook.”
Hao-Yu Lee, who came in hitting .355 this month, doubled in the first inning and rapped a two-out, two-run single in the second.
Dingler also knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly and keyed a two-run fourth when left-fielder Cody Bellinger dropped his fly ball at the wall in left.
Five of the seven runs were unearned, but the Tigers collected 11 hits, knocked Weathers out in the second inning and forced the Yankees to use six relievers.
“We saw him before,” McGonigle said. “We had a good idea what he was going to attack us with. I think everybody did a good job staying with their approach, putting the ball in play and not trying to do too much.”
A good team win, as Hinch likes to say.
“A lot of great at-bats, we played good defense and got great starting pitching,” he said. “A lot to like. Casey was so laser-focused on getting deep into the game. The bullpen wasn’t in great shape and we haven’t got to the finish line the last couple games.
“And like great starting pitchers do, he put us on his back. You can’t ask for more.”
Hinch joked during the homestand that he wished he’d have checked this milestone off back in May.
“I have so much respect for this position,” he said. “And now I understand what it takes to get to any number, I don’t care if it’s 500, 600, 700. I look up and see managers like Terry Francona who has over 2,000 wins. This game is about the players and I’ve been blessed to be in charge of a lot of teams that won a lot of games.
“It will matter to me. I will try to deflect it now because it’s not about me. But it means I’ve had a lot of tremendous players, tremendous coaches and organizations putting together teams. And I’ve been able to stand up here and be the manager for a really long time to get to a number like that.”
BOX SCORE: Tigers 7, Yankees 3
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers get early jump on Yankees, cruise to victory in opener
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris McCosky, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
