CHICAGO – I wanted to ask Detroit Tigers' manager A.J. Hinch a question after a game but I botched it.
Because there were too many thoughts swirling in my head. I wanted to ask him about Kevin McGonigle, the Tigers sensational rookie. Because McGonigle is not just good. He’s not just exceptional. He’s put together an amazing, historic, absolutely ridiculous rookie season.
One of the best in MLB's recent history, in fact.
So, there’s no question anymore: It would be a crime if McGonigle’s not American League Rookie of the Year. McGonigle has been so good, I’m starting to wonder: Should he get AL MVP votes?
The answer? Yes – but I’ll get back to that in a second.
to this class
See that’s not what I wanted to ask Hinch.
No, I wanted to dig deeper than that. I mean, how do you explain this? What makes this kid so special? Is it something with his eyes – is that why the game just seems slower for him? Is it something in his brain? Is it his mentality or personality? The way he’s wired? Does his brain work different than others? Or was it the way he was raised by his parents? The way he watches video and obsessively studies other hitters? The way he is so driven and continues to work his butt off?
I supposed that brings us back to the aged-old question: Is it nature or nurture?
Or, was it something even more magical than that: did the Hitting Gods reach down and just touch him, just like they did Miguel Cabrera?
I mean, what makes a great hitter great?
Alas, I couldn’t get any of those questions to form in a rushed postgame scrum after McGonigle knocked in four runs in the Tigers’ dramatic rally over the Chicago White Sox on Friday, Sept. 18.
“We've talked about McGonigle all year,” I began and then my mind swirled with 100 questions about McGonigle’s work ethic and his natural ability and the gods of hitting, and only this came out: “Four RBIs … Came through in the clutch.”
I paused. “What ... what is it about this kid?”
Hinch was caught off guard momentarily, probably from how I had stumbled through the question. But he could sense what I was asking.
“I mean he's really good,” Hinch said. “I mean listen, this is part of the reason why this guy raced through the minor leagues, it’s his ability to adjust and his ability to handle the biggest workload of his life and still wow you and wow our fans and be a contributor on our team.”
Yes, he has wowed me. Over and over. But then, the look of wow crossed Hinch’s face.
“I mean, I don't know what to say about him other than he's incredible,” Hinch said. “You know, he's still learning. He's got a lot of room to grow and that's the scary part for the American League is – he's not a fully finished product yet.”
How he keeps improving
No, he’s not a finished product. That’s the wild part.
In the midst of this incredible season, he has learned several lessons.
“I learned that just because it's a strike, you don't have to swing at it every time,” McGonigle said on Sunday before a rain delay pushed back the Tigers' road finale against the White Sox. “I caught myself a few times this year, first pitch of the game, up and away fastball, I go at it, pop it up, and kind of sitting back on that. I've been just looking pitches in the heart to hit, and that's kind of my mindset this year.”
Yes, McGonigle makes it sound so simple. Of course, it’s not.
Entering Sunday, he had reached base safely 256 times this season (not counting reaching on errors), just the fifth rookie to reach that mark since 1990. The others: Aaron Judge (286 in 2017), Ichiro Suzuki (280 in 2001), Albert Pujols (272 in 2001) and Ben Grieve (262 in 1998) – all four won their league's Rookie of the Year award, three of them unanimously. (In fact, McGonigle's just the 35th rookie in MLB history with at least 256 times on base – and eight of those went on to make the Hall of Fame.)
There's also this: McGonigle is one of only two rookies in MLB history to post a season with at least 95 runs, 26 doubles, 17 homers, 70 RBIs and 93 walks. The other? None other than Ted Williams in 1939.
But it’s not just his numbers compared against rookies.
Consider this: He entered Sunday with a 6.8 bWAR (per Baseball Reference), the highest of any position player in the American League. I mean, it’s better than Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (6.4), Houston DH Yordan Alvarez (6.3), Boston outfielder Wilyer Abreu (5.8) and Tampa Bay outfielder Junior Caminero (5.7). WAR is a baseball nerd stat – and I say that lovingly – that tries to quantify everything a player does.
Even beyond bWAR, McGonigle sits firmly among the AL's best hitters: He entered Sunday sixth in runs (95) fifth in on-base percentage (.377), hits (160) and triples (five), fourth in walks (93) and second in times on base (256).
Oh, and those 95 runs scored? Eight rookies in the past 15 seasons have scored that many; not only were they all Rookie of the Year winners, but six finished in the top 10 in the MVP race.
So, yeah, he should freakin’ get some MVP votes.
But here is the most amazing stat of all: Entering Sunday, he had 93 walks and 91 strikeouts. Just think about that. To have more walks than strikeouts as a rookie? It’s ridiculous.
“Yeah, that's a cool stat,” McGonigle said. “I try to keep my eyes off that board as much as possible and not really look too deep into it. I don't even know what I'm at right now, and I don't want to know.”
Small tweaks, big results
Now, back to how he’s growing.
Earlier this season, he made a small adjustment and started standing up taller in the batter’s box.
“That was kind of my idea,” he said. “Because early in the year, I was so low. Season goes on, it's long, and then you're in your legs so much that you know you can't get out of them. So, I kind of got up a little taller, and then I made that adjustment.”
About three weeks ago, McGonigle felt that he was late on fastballs and was popping them up. So, he made another small adjustment. Now, when he loads – right before he swings – he kind of pumps his hands forward.
“Just more of a hand pump, if that makes any sense, where instead of going back, kind of just like forward,” he said, moving his hands. “Like a bat tip. I guess they would call it, a bat tilt or whatever. That was kind of the adjustments I made, and I feel like that helped me get back on the fastball.”
So, why try the hand pump? He can’t explain it.
“I thought the hand pump would work because – I don't know,” he said. “When it comes to hitting, I can just think of different things, and if I tell myself it, it's that way.”
It’s that way.
Boom. Right there. Maybe that explains McGonigle: He has so much confidence, so much talent, so much knowledge about his own swing – even at this young age – that if he thinks it will happen, it will.
Yes, that’s how good he is. He tells himself something: If I stand up taller, I’ll hit the high heaters.
Then, he believes it. And he does it.
“I feel like with me, I was pretty good growing up, knowing what I was doing wrong with my swing,” he said. “I always watch video of everyone's swing, and even with my swing all the time, and I could always pick out certain things that I'm doing wrong, and certain things that I might need to adjust to.”
Put another way: He just sees things others don’t. It's like he's playing a different game.
Kevin McGonigle freakin' hates losing
Make no mistake, this story is about McGonigle and what he has accomplished this season.
But there is another side that most people don’t see. It goes way beyond the numbers. It’s the look on his face after the Tigers lose a game. He is a fierce competitor and freakin’ hates losing. Just despises it. After games, I will see him in the clubhouse and you can tell all of this losing just kills him. He looks like somebody just stole his puppy, his expression somewhere between ticked off and seriously bummed out.
“Losing sucks,” he said. “The guys in this clubhouse, of course, we all hate it as well.”
That’s what makes this season so strange for McGonigle. He has had incredible personal success but the Tigers will finish with their first losing season since 2023. And it bugs the crap out of him.
“Talking to the older guys, they're telling me, ‘use this as fuel, use this for the rest of your career,’” McGonigle said. “It's not a good feeling in the stomach, to be honest with you. So tough year, but I think you can use this to get better and build from it. I think everyone has that mindset. We'll be in a great spot.”
Of course, they will start off in a great spot – with McGonigle on the infield and batting high in the order.
That’s a heck of a place to start.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Already AL's top rookie, Tigers' Kevin McGonigle has MVP case, too
