When the Guardians arrived at Comerica Park for their workout on Tuesday, the first player to take the field was Matthew Boyd. He strolled the grounds in the October sun, hugged some old friends and admired the MLB Postseason logo painted on the grass in front of the dugouts for the first time in 10 years.
Boyd once dreamed of helping the Tigers get here. Now that they've arrived, he'll be watching from the other side.
"Oh, man," he said with a smile, "it's going to be really cool to see. It's just exciting. It's exciting to be here during this moment. I'm really grateful that I get to be part of it, because I just know how much it means to not only the organization, but Detroit and the state of Michigan. They've got such good fans here that are so passionate about sports, and I know how badly they've wanted it. It's going to be cool to be on the field for it."
Boyd was on the mound for Game 2 of the ALDS between the Tigers and Guardians, and held his former team scoreless for 4 2/3 innings. He was outdone by his close friend Tarik Skubal, "the best pitcher on the planet," said Boyd. The Tigers won and leveled the series as it shifts to Detroit, but Boyd savored every bit of his first-ever postseason start in year 10 of his career. He said that "it felt right, like something that was a long time coming."
"It just felt like, man, I've just seen this opportunity happen in my mind so many times. I didn't see it happening against the Tigers and against Skube and all that, but it was one of those things that was like, man, this is really special," said Boyd.
Boyd was 24 when he joined the Tigers in 2015 via the midseason trade that sent David Price to the Blue Jays. Miguel Cabrera introduced him around the clubhouse on his first day in Detroit and then told him, "Hey, we're here to win." Despite Boyd's best efforts, the Tigers spent most of his tenure losing.
He started 158 games for the club over parts of eight seasons, and at times looked like one of the better pitchers in the game. Injuries derailed the end his time with Detroit, including his second stint last season. He returned to the mound with the Guardians this season after undergoing Tommy John and has been pitching better than maybe ever.
Boyd is 33 now, and a father to four. He still keeps in touch with most of his former teammates, a mentor to many of them. Skubal called him "the leader who helped me get on my feet in the big leagues." Boyd pointed out that he was in Lakeland "rehabbing when Jackson Jobe and Ty Madden were drafted and walked into that clubhouse." He was there in Detroit when Jake Rogers "got traded for and when Tarik and Casey (Mize) got drafted and debuted."
"You go down the list," he said, "I remember Dillon Dingler coming in for COVID camp a month after he was drafted. I just know those guys. That's the cool part about baseball, you get to make relationships across the league. And obviously here, there happens to be a few more. I love all those guys, I love the coaching staff, so many good guys over there and in the front office. It's a lot of good people on that Tiger side."
When Boyd was leaving Progressive Field Monday night, Skubal had just finished his media duties in a nearby interview room and caught him from behind. The two of them walked together in the bowels of the stadium, "just talking about how fun that was," said Boyd. "Obviously Tarik was so good yesterday, and we talked about how good he felt. I think he said it's the best he's ever felt in a big-league uniform, and you could see it, right?"
Once upon a time, Boyd could see this: playoff baseball in Detroit. He'll see it tomorrow from a different vantage point, and perhaps appreciate it all the same. It's not "satisfaction" that he feels, he said, but something lighter and less self-involved.
"I know how much Tigers baseball means to this city and this state," said Boyd. "I know how hard the years were in between 2014 and now. I know how hard it was in 2016 when all we really had to do was just win one game to force another game, and how much that personally ate at me. But then also, believing you're always going to be back. So all those things considered, I know how much that means to get back to the postseason, and I'm happy for the city in that regard."
After all, said Boyd, "you heard how exciting it was in Cleveland, and you expect nothing less here. It's just two really good sports towns that love their teams. It's going to be fun."