KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The season began veering from its ideal route in early May. The Detroit Tigers at the time were 19-17. But their young center fielder was hitting .096, beaten by fastballs up in the zone, perplexed by breaking balls down.
The team’s brass resisted and resisted, knowing how much Parker Meadows’ defense and base running could mean to the team. Finally, they could resist no more. On May 6, the Tigers demoted Meadows to Triple-A Toledo.
By June, the team was below .500 and falling fast. Meadows was in the minors beginning to correct his timing, charting a path back to the big leagues. But if someone would have told Meadows he would be doing what he’s doing now, making dazzling catches and notching go-ahead hits in the thick of a rip-roaring playoff race?
“I’d believe ’em,” Meadows said Tuesday night, fresh off his latest grandeur. “Confidence is huge in this game, and you got to maintain it.”
By July 4, the Tigers were at their low point. That was the day Kenta Maeda got banged around in a waterlogged 12-3 loss in Minneapolis. The Tigers fell to nine games under .500. Their season seemed over, and their youthful spirits were finally wounded.
That evening they recalled Meadows, who had worked on holding his hands higher and leveling out his swing while on his sojourn in Toledo. Meadows promptly homered in each of his first two games back in the major leagues. In his third game back, he injured his right hamstring and missed close to a month.
By the time he returned, the Tigers were 53-58. They sold all they could at the trade deadline. Their pitching was filled with questions and the final two months of the season seemed as though they would be all about development.
All that has happened since might not have come to fruition without Meadows actualizing the best version of his game. There was the miraculous catch in Seattle, where he leaped into the clouds to rob Cal Raleigh of a go-ahead homer in the eighth. There was the night in San Diego, where he hit a 100.7 mph fastball the other way for a go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the ninth and said, “Never count us out.”
“He’s dealt with a ton this year,” manager A.J. Hinch recently said. “His maturity, I’m very proud of him and for him. He’s a stable player, a stable person. He’s very calm, but it’s not been an easy ride for him despite how easy he makes a lot of things look on the field.”
Tuesday in Kansas City, Meadows was at the epicenter of another quaking Tigers’ victory. In the third inning, there were two runners on base when Hunter Renfroe belted a two-out line drive back and to Meadows’ left. The long-legged center fielder broke to the ball a half-second late, then took off in a graceful sprint, reaching over his head to make the catch and likely saving two runs.
As the play unfolded, starting pitcher Casey Mize was at first surprised Meadows was able to get to the ball. Then he asked himself: Why am I surprised?
“That guy can be a superstar,” Mize said later. “He’s got it all. When he runs down a ball like that it just kind of reminds you why. He’s a freak out there.”
Oh my Parker Meadows 😱 pic.twitter.com/kg03bkRVVs
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 18, 2024
Meadows has been worth plus-4 outs above average and roams the outfield with a sprint speed that ranks in the 93rd percentile among all players. More so, he wins the eye test with his range, his length, his leaping ability and his big-catches-in-big-moments panache.
In another tight game, amid this sublime playoff push, Tuesday’s catch was another marvel.
“If the ball is gonna stay in the yard, Parker is gonna catch it,” Hinch said. “But it was hit hard and it was hit to the big part of the ballpark. … If he took the right angle he’s generally gonna run down 99.999 percent of them that stay in the yard. But man, we held our breath a little bit because of how much damage it could have done to the inning.”
By the 10th inning, the Tigers had clenched their jaws and endured another white-knuckle duel with the Royals. Shelby Miller twice stranded the bases loaded. Beau Brieske pitched a dazzling inning of relief. Tyler Holton continued his dominance to keep the game tied at 1, even with rookie second baseman Colt Keith leaving the game with a shoulder injury that will require further testing.
In extras, Trey Sweeney was on third thanks to a Lucas Erceg balk. Facing a flamethrowing right-hander, Meadows fought off a 93 mph changeup and blooped it into left field to bring in the go-ahead run. Meadows stood on first base and lifted his arms to the sky.
The Tigers went on to win 3-1, keeping them 1 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the American League’s final wild-card spot.
“We’re just gonna keep doing our thing, playing our game, show up every day and have fun, converse all day, play cards and just stay relaxed,” Meadows said. “Be in the moment and keep coming up clutch in big situations. This team is really good at that.”
Since August, no one has been better in those moments than Meadows. The Tigers would not be here without this player who has been hitting .306 since his return from the injured list. Often dashing around the bases and occasionally blasting a ball into the seats, he posted a .911 OPS in August and followed up with an .850 OPS in September. Since his return from the IL, he ranks 12th among all MLB players in FanGraphs’ base running metric.
“He’s been an impactful player on both sides, and he can still get a lot better,” Hinch said.
Meadows has been a struggling prospect, then a rising hitter in Double A. He has been an exciting young player, then a hitter who looked overmatched in the major leagues. Right now, he is the most exciting player on a team that has become one of the best stories in baseball.
Meadows entered Tuesday with an .856 OPS in games the Tigers win. After the latest theatrics, the Tigers’ record when Meadows is in the starting lineup is an astounding 42-23.
Informed of the stat, Hinch chuckled.
“I’m gonna start him tomorrow,” he said.
(Top photo: Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)
