MINNEAPOLIS – It was all about the preparation for Max Clark, the Detroit Tigers rookie.
His strange swings in batting practice. The long pregame talks about hitting.
“I felt really, really confident in the plan that [Tigers hitting coach Michael] Brdar gave us,” Clark said after playing a pivotal role in theTigers’ 11-6 victory in 12 inningsagainst the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, Sept. 2. “I sat and talked with him for 25 minutes before the game, just trying to figure it out. I've been scuffling. I've been putting good swings on balls and nothing's falling.”
But those balls certainly started falling against the Twins. Clark went 3 for 4 with three doubles, scored three runs, walked twice and had an RBI.
“Just finding a way to love the process,
and I got rewarded with that tonight,” Clark said.
As he said that, I thought: Wow, right now, we are watching a young kid grow up.
“That was the most locked in on a plan that I've been all year,” Clark said. “I felt like I was in control of every single at-bat, and that's just because I knew what I was looking for.”
Clark was hitting .161 (5-for-31) in his previous 11 games. But everything seemed to come together – or maybe, it was everything finally slowed down for him − on this night against the Twins.
“He obviously showed a little bit of everything,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He's really good at taking what the game gives him when things slow down a little bit. He plays fast.”
Sometimes, too fast – at least mentally.
“When his mind stops racing, he can really do a lot of things on the field,” Hinch said. “He is a menace on the bases. I'm very comfortable with the ball hit to the middle part of the field because he's there. He shows range on defense. He shows some aptitude at the plate. We've just got to let him grow up and get used to being a big-leaguer. He's not afraid of lefties. You know, he's in there every day, and he plays with energy. There's a lot to like.”
'We're gonna find a way'
Here’s one more thing to like.
After the game, the first thing Clark did was talk about his teammates.
About the importance of this win, especially after the Tigers had lost 14 of their last 17 games.
“I think it speaks to a lot to what this team is like,” Clark said. “We're gonna fight. We're young. We have a couple veteran pieces, but we're young, so it's not always gonna be the cleanest game. But we're gonna find a way. I feel like every single guy had some piece of today.”
Then, he started listing teammates who had big games.
Like Kyle Finnegan, the veteran reliever who didn’t give up an earned run in two innings of work, even though he was facing all kinds of pressure.
“Finnegan was [freakin’] nails getting out of that first and third,” Clark said. “That can't go unwritten.”
Or how John Peck, playing in just his third MLB game, had a pair of hits and knocked in three runs.
Or how Javier Báez came off the bench and had a three-RBI double.
“Peck had a big night, unbelievable at-bats,” Clark said. “Javy came through – it’s really, really cool to see.”
The secret work behind his big game
All of this started with his preparation.
A few days ago, I watched Clark take batting practice in Target Field. He started out swinging only with his upper body – a strange looking approach that eliminated his legs − and he was flicking shots off the walls in Target Field.
“That's the point, you show yourself that I don't have to take a mammo hack,” he said. “I have the ability to just use my hands and flick things out of the park.”
Clark is a handsy hitter.
Sometimes, too much.
“So my issue becomes I start getting too handsy, especially when I'm slow or I'm going through a rough patch,” Clark said. “I really depend on it.”
So, he’s been working to make some tweaks and adjustments while in the big leagues, which isn’t easy.
“I'm really methodical when it comes to my swing," he said before the game. "There's a lot of stuff that we're working on. I've been hitting the ball a lot better. I haven't been rewarded yet necessarily, but the quality of contact has been a lot better.”
And then Wednesday happened.
He finally got rewarded.
Because he put in the work.
Because he had a plan and followed it.
Everthing goes back to his defense
It’s like we are watching him grow up inside a fishbowl.
Learning new skills. Bringing so many different elements to this team.
Hitting. Bunting. Being a menace on the bases. Whatever you need.
But the thing he is most proud of?
His defense in center.
“I'm just so confident out there right now,” he said. “I want to go catch everything, and I've got to rely on that. There's going to be the ebbs and flows of hitting, especially as a rookie. It’s tough. It's the hardest part of the game. It's the last thing you somewhat 'figure out.' So I'm going to be committed to being an A-plus-plus defender because that's what's going to keep me here.”
That’s the plan at least.
A plan that is coming together perfectly.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: We are watching rookie Max Clark grow up in many great ways for Tigers
