Like a storm that clears the clouds, the hard news came with good news. Akil Baddoo was being exposed by the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft. This meant the team that found him was content to lose him. It also meant Baddoo might get a legitimate shot at the big leagues for the first time in his career.
The better news came shortly thereafter, a couple weeks before Christmas. Baddoo was at home with his family when he learned the Tigers had selected him in the Rule 5 with the third overall pick. He would report to major league camp in the spring with a shot to make the major league roster.
“It was definitely a surreal moment, just having my family around and having that opportunity to make a big league squad. I was just filled with joy,” Baddoo said Wednesday. “I told my Mom about it and she said, ‘Alright, now let’s go to work.’ I said, ‘Let’s go, I’m ready.’”
But was he ready? The 22-year-old hadn’t played beyond A-ball in four seasons with the Twins. He hadn’t played baseball at all since an elbow injury required Tommy John in May of 2019. And now he was vying for a spot in the majors?
Baddoo's odds were long enough. Then the Tigers signed outfielder Robbie Grossman. Then they signed outfielder Nomar Mazara. Most big-league teams keep four outfielders on the roster. Add JaCoby Jones and Victor Reyes to the picture and it didn’t leave room for Baddoo.
Not unless he forced his way in. Not unless he made it impossible for the Tigers to head north without him – and thus offer him back to a division rival. Not unless he opened so many eyes over a month of exhibition games that they couldn’t be closed without seeing that smooth left-handed swing, that light-footed speed and that big head of hair.
“He’s got some mojo to him,” A.J. Hinch said a few weeks into camp. “He plays with some energy. He can steal bases, the hat flies off, the hair’s big, there’s a charisma about him that I didn’t expect coming into camp.”
In Detroit's first game of the spring, Baddoo drove in two runs, scored another and got on base in both trips to the plate. And then he just kept hitting. At one point he homered in three straight games. A kid whose last competitive at-bats came nearly two full years ago in A-ball finished the spring with as many homers as Ronald Acuna, as many walks as Justin Turner, as many stolen bases as Dee Gordon and as many runs as Corey Seager.
And at some point this weekend, he’ll step into the batter’s box at Comerica Park.
“I can’t really fathom it,” Baddoo said. “Just really thankful to be here and get started. This is all kind of a dream.”
The Tigers kept five outfielders because Baddoo left them no choice. GM Al Avila said their scouts liked what he showed in A-ball. He said they thought his athleticism, physical maturity and fearless attitude would play in the big leagues. He’d also say, if he were being honest, that none of them saw this coming, not this fast. Baddoo might say otherwise.
“I did everything in my power to make sure I was ready for this moment,” he said.
That meant changing his workout routine this offseason by doing more yoga. It meant changing his diet by cutting out bad foods. It meant “realizing my body is a temple and I need to take care of it to produce.” It also meant poring over tape of some of the greatest players of all time.
The hair might be distinctly Baddoo. But The Kid inspires the swing. The Say Hey Kid inspires the grace. Baddoo absorbs his favorite players in a sort of trance, eyes glued to a screen, then releases them on the field. He's like a monk in a dorm room.
“Probably because I’m frustrated after losing a game of Call of Duty: Warzone, I’m like, alright, how do I occupy my time? So I’m like, hey, let’s look at the greats. Willie Mays when it comes to defense. Ken Griffey when it comes to hitting, his whole approach. I just sit there and analyze for hours and hours, and just watch them, slo-mo, over and over again – and kind of add my own little twist to it.”
This zeal for the game isn't just hidden behind the scenes. On the first day of camp, Baddoo saw Jeimer Candelario going through his hitting routine in the cage. Soon he was peppering Candelario with questions.
“’Why do you do the tee? Why you do this? Why do you do that?’” Candelario recalled. “I gave him a couple details, but man, he carried that and he’s doing really well. I’m excited for him. I see him developing the right way.”
Excitement abounds for Baddoo, who will start the year on the Tigers' bench and hasn’t stopped smiling since he made the team. He was smiling when Hinch told him last week, even as he tried to hide it behind his mask, and when he called his mom and “she was screaming for joy.” He was smiling on Wednesday about his family coming town for his big-league debut, and about gazing for the first time at the big green outfield where this dream will become real.
“I was just living it, just enjoying every second of it,” said Baddoo. “Just taking a deep breath and realizing, ‘Alright, you’re here now, let’s play. You have a job at hand. Let’s take care of business.’”