The career path of Dietrich Enns reads a bit like a popular Johnny Cash song. He's been to Tampa, Trenton, Scranton; Chattanooga, Charleston, Rochester; Staten Island, Hyannis, El Paso; Margarita, Tokorozawa, Seoul -- see what I mean? I've been everywhere, man.
A journey that wound through Mount Pleasant most recently led Enns to Toledo. After spending last year overseas in the KBO League, he signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers and started the season with the Mud Hens. Armed with a new changeup he picked up in South Korea and then sharpened this spring in Lakeland, the 34-year-old lefty toyed with Triple-A hitters and waited for the majors to come calling again.
The first call came in 2017. Shortly after being traded from the Yankees to the Twins, Enns made his big-league debut with Minnesota, pitched in two games, injured his shoulder and spent four more years in the minors before getting the second call from the Rays in 2021. He pitched well in nine games with Tampa -- twice beating the Tigers -- but was released that offseason. At the age of 30, he was off to Japan.
Enns shined in his first season with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball. In his second season, a group of his former teammates from Central Michigan came to visit for a couple weeks and watch him pitch on the other side of the world. He remembers seeing CMU hats in the crowd. His goal was always to get back to the bigs, said Enns, who "used the stops along the way, wherever I was, to just hone the craft and get better and try to be as good as I can be when I’m at the Major League level."
Pitching last year in the KBO, Enns caught eyes in Detroit. His numbers didn't glitter, but the Tigers were intrigued enough to give him a look. His deep repertoire appealed to their advanced pitching department. Their reputation for developing arms appealed to Enns. This spring, the Tigers' director of pitching Gabe Ribas helped Enns master a grip known as the "kick change" that gave his changeup more depth -- "and gave me some confidence to go out there and throw it," he said.
"It’s been, from the get-go, a great organization to be a part of," said Enns. "Their pitching development is top notch, so it’s made me a better pitcher. I really homed in on making my changeup as good as it can be. I feel like I can still get better in some ways and I feel like it’s the right org to find those little improvements. They’re willing to work with guys, no matter how old or how young."
The third call came this week. Enns was summoned into the office of Mud Hens manager Gabe Alvarez, who told him he was headed to Detroit. The top team in baseball needed him. When Enns arrived on Wednesday, another four years removed from his last MLB outing and eight years removed from his last big-league start, A.J. Hinch told him, "You can help us win, and you’re starting tomorrow." They would figure out the rest on the fly.
Enns spread the word to his family and a bunch of his friends, many of whom are CMU grads based in Detroit. It's an easy drive from his hometown of Frankfort, Illinois, just south of Chicago -- "four hours is a lot closer than, like, Japan and Korea," he laughed. Enns left 20-some-odd tickets for everyone who was coming, like his MLB debut all over again, and then did his best to "keep the emotions in check."
Enns retired the first batter he faced on the first pitch he threw. He breezed through the first two innings with an array of fastballs, changeups, curveballs and cutters. He flashed a sinker. When he ran into trouble in the third after an infield single and a walk, he escaped with a changeup that got the A's best hitter, Brent Rooker, to bounce into a double play. Enns set the next six batters down in order. From Hinch's view in the dugout, Enns "had everything" in his arsenal going.
"I’ve only been around him for one spring, but he’s very pitchable, because he can pitch to a game plan, he can beat guys at the top of the zone, which he did a lot today, the changeup came as advertised to steal a strike, the curveball was really effective, he’s even got a slider that he’s going to use a lot more. But it felt like he could do with the ball whatever he wanted to do and execute at a high level."
Enns' final out of the afternoon was a ground ball to third baseman and fellow Central Michigan product Zach McKinstry, off the bat of Eastern Michigan's Max Schuemann. The Chippewas in the crowd loved it. Enns couldn't miss them: the same teammates who wore CMU hats in Japan were wearing Enns' Seibu Lions jersey in Detroit. And if the fans weren't already, well, Fired Up, McKinstry went 3-for-4 with a double and his AL-leading eighth triple to put the finishing touches on the Tigers' 8-0 win. It was that kind of day, in that kind of season.
"There was definitely a lot of Chippewas here, I know that for sure," Enns said with a grin. "A lot of them either took off work, or they were listening to it on the radio or watching it on TV. There were a lot of guys in the stands with their CMU gear, it’s always good to see that. When I signed with the Tigers, I envisioned this as a possibility. I’m just happy that it’s happening and happy to be here in Detroit."
After allowing one hit through five innings on 77 pitches, Enns was ready to go back out for more. But Hinch met him at the bottom of the dugout steps with a congratulatory handshake, and Enns was "just happy with where I was at and all that it's taken me to get back here." He exhaled in satisfaction.
"You can take the guard down a little bit when they say you’re done, and you can soak it in a little bit," he said.
"That was incredible," said Hinch. "Good for him, and obviously good for our team, good for our organization. A lot of people contributed to this moment. But Dietrich came in and stayed under control, stayed within himself from all the excitement and delivered a great performance at a time when we needed it."
At the end of a long, hot afternoon, Enns was looking forward to sitting down for dinner somewhere and swapping "old stories" with everyone who came to see him. More than that, he was eager for tomorrow to get back to work and "keep plugging away." Thursday marked the third win of Enns' MLB career and the 51st of the season for the Tigers, who are 20 games above .500 as the summer starts to sweat.
"It’s been a fun team to watch with how they’re playing this year," Enns said. "Super excited to be here and really just want to play a small part in it."
His role moving forward remains to be seen, with Reese Olson returning to the Tigers' rotation as soon as next week, but "I know he fits somewhere," said Hinch. "He’s earned the right to pitch again in some capacity." Enns is open to anything. Whether he'll be starting or coming out of the bullpen, "I don't know," said Hinch, "but it’s going to be in the big leagues."
He's been everywhere, man. For now, he's not going anywhere.