Riley Greene is a superstitious baseball player.
“Not as much as it used to be,” Greene insisted.
To be fair, Greene hasn’t changed his song from Morgan Wallen’s “Cowgirls” despite a recent rough patch at the plate, but throughout his three-year MLB career, he’s been one of the most superstitious players. with the Detroit Tigers, they often change their song without prior appointment in search of breaking a losing streak.
Now, after Greene had some of his best swings in the month of May during Friday’s 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tigers are leaning into the City Connect superstition.
“I started (my swing) a little early,” Greene said. “I wish I had known a couple of weeks ago.”
Houston Astros during the second inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, May 2024.”>
The Tigers decided to wear City Connect uniforms for Saturday’s game, even though they were initially not supposed to wear them after Friday’s win snapped a five-game losing streak. After the win, catcher Jake Rogers surveyed all the players about the idea of wearing City Connect uniforms for Saturday’s game.
Other teams have also embraced the City Connect superstition.
“The whole organization allows it,” manager AJ Hinch said. “It’s actually become a thing around the league where teams are wondering if there’s a little bit of good luck with City Connects.”
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Greene, meanwhile, has struggled to find his rhythm over the last 18 games, batting .169 with one home run, five walks and 22 strikeouts. He went 1-for-4 with a double in Friday’s game, but put four balls in play with an exit velocity of at least 90 mph as he lifted the ball into the air toward the drive side.
He had his best swings since early May.
“My hitting coach texted me the night I hit three times,” said Greene, who struck out three times in Thursday’s game. “He said to me: ‘What do you have?’ I’m like, ‘I’m going to be honest, I have no idea what I’m doing.’ He’s like, ‘Start early, man. You’re late.” So yesterday I started earlier.”
His hitting coach is Jered Goodwin, his former high school coach who coaches him (and other MLB players) in the off-season and works as vice president of scouting operations at Perfect Game.
Goodwin’s advice helped Greene realize that his depression was not related to the mechanics of his swing, but rather the timing of his swing.
“Sometimes, it’s as simple as that,” Greene said. “When he told me that, I thought, ‘Why didn’t I realize that a couple of days ago or a couple of weeks ago?’ He’s a good guy. He knows what he’s doing.”
Finally, Greene feels like himself again.
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Greene, a streaky hitter so far in his career, is capable of single-handedly carrying the Tigers on offense, as exemplified by a 16-game stretch from April 17 to May 4, when he hit .339 with five home runs and 11 walks. and 16 strikeouts in 16 games.
“He’s the kind of hitter none of us worry about,” Hinch said. “We should probably pay a little more attention to the ups and downs that he goes through to try to support him more, but it’s very easy. He comes to the ballpark every day the same. He’s one or two swings away from greatness all the time. “
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Colt Keith’s song
Colt Keith, a rookie second baseman, likes the option of wearing City Connect uniforms again, but he’s not a superstitious player. He knows that the jersey he wears does not determine whether he will perform well or not.
He hit the first home run of his MLB career in Friday’s game.
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“I feel like I’ve been dreaming about it for a while,” Keith said. “It was kind of a mix-up when it happened. I don’t even know what pitch I threw to him. I just knew he threw it well and I was happy to see it fly into the stands.”
Unlike Greene in the past, Keith has stuck with his walk-on song, Far East Movement’s “Rocketeer,” through the ups and downs of his rookie season. The 22-year-old considered changing his walk-on song earlier this year, but his fiancée, Kaitlyn Vickers, wouldn’t let him change it.
It seems that the future Mrs. Keith is not superstitious either.
“She told me if I change it, she’ll hit me,” Keith said jokingly. “I thought about changing it a couple of times, and Kait said no. She said, ‘That’s the best song on the team, you have to keep it.’ Whatever she says.”
Spencer Torkelson on the bench
First baseman Spencer Torkelson, who continues to struggle at the plate, sat on the bench for Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays. In Torkelson’s place, outfielder Mark Canha handled first base duties.
The 24-year-old is stuck in a 19-0 skid.
He’s hitting .135 in his last 10 games.
Torkelson previously had hits in 12 of his 13 games from May 5-19, but even then, he hit just .280 with two walks and 12 strikeouts during that stretch. For the entire season, Torkelson is hitting .207 with three home runs, 16 walks and 45 strikeouts in 49 games.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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