AJ Hinch has hilarious response to young star becoming Tigers' lucky charm

On July 4, the Detroit Tigers were at one of their lowest points of the season. They had just suffered a 12-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins to fall nine games below .500. By nearly every measure, their season felt all but over.

But that evening, the Tigers recalled outfielder Parker Meadows from Triple-A Toledo, where he had spent the previous two months after a disastrous start to the season in the majors, and things instantly began to change.

Meadows homered in each of his first two games before going down with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for close to a month. By the time he returned, things weren't much better; the trade deadline had passed, and Detroit was five games below .500 with a porous pitching staff and several question marks in the batting order.

Everything that has transpired since then has taken nearly the entire baseball world by surprise. The Tigers (78-73) are now five games above .500 and trail division rival Minnesota by only 1.5 games for the third and final American League Wild Card spot. The postseason is within reach, and Meadows has been a big part of the reason why.

AJ Hinch has hilarious response to Parker Meadows becoming Tigers' lucky charm

It's hard to believe that the young center fielder who started the year hitting .096 at the plate is the same player who is now Detroit's Mr. Clutch, smashing go-ahead grand slams and leaping over the outfield wall to make impossible catches. But Meadows' heroics were at the center of yet another Tigers victory Tuesday in Kansas City, making a massive catch in the third inning to save two runs and help starting pitcher Casey Mize escape a jam against the Royals. The Tigers went on to defeat the Royals, 3-1.

According to Baseball Savant, Meadows has been worth 4 outs above average on defense for the Tigers, with a sprint speed that ranks in the 93rd percentile among all MLB players. Offensively, he posted a .911 OPS in August and followed up with an .850 OPS in September. Whether it's with his bat or glove, he continues to show up in big moments for a team that has become one of the most exciting stories of the 2024 MLB season.

It shouldn't come a surprise, then, that the Tigers' record when Meadows is in the starting lineup is a staggering 42-23. Upon hearing the stat following Tuesday's win, Tigers manager AJ Hinch chuckled and said (via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic), "I'm gonna start him tomorrow."

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