When Spencer Torkelson loomed over the plate with two on and two out in the seventh inning Friday night, the fans behind the Tigers' dugout started chanting "Tork! Tork!! Tork!!!" before each pitch. They weren't alone. The chant has caught on in the Tigers' dugout, too.
"A bunch of us do it: 'Tork! Tork!!'" said Riley Greene, smiling and pumping his fist. "We’re all doing it with them. It has a great ring to it."
As dialed in as he is right now, Torkelson can't block it out himself. Why would he even try? When it really gets going, he has to resist the urge to swing out of his cleats.
"It fires me up. I definitely gotta slow down, too, because you hear that chant and in your mind you're immediately like, 'I wanna go deep so bad,' Torkelson said with a laugh. "Just hit a lousy single, just maintain the same approach. But yeah, you can totally hear it."
The chant grew louder as Torkelson laid off three pitches below the zone from Royals reliever Angel Zerpa and ran the count to 3-1. He was waiting on the fastball, as he is "99 percent of the time," Torkelson said, "especially when he’s bringing it up to 96, 97. And especially 3-1, you’d rather miss an off-speed pitch than miss a fastball."
He got a changeup in the middle of the plate and ripped a two-run double down the left-field line to put the finishing touches on the Tigers' 7-3 win. It was the snapshot of a highly-confident hitter who's carried the adjustments he made this spring into the season. Torkelson has "always seen the ball well," he said, "but it’s a matter of being in good position to trust what I’m seeing, and I think that’s really it."
"It’s not like I got my eyes checked and all of a sudden I got new contacts and I’m seeing the ball," he laughed. "But I’m finally in a position to where when I see the ball, I can make a swing decision and that swing decision is going to work."
On Saturday afternoon, Torkelson came to the plate with two on and two out in the fifth inning of a scoreless game. This time facing a righty in Seth Lugo, he fouled off a well-located slider on 1-2, then got a hanging splitter and drove it into Detroit's bullpen to lift the Tigers to a 3-1 win. It was his 14th extra-base hit of the season, most in the American League. Aaron Judge ranks second with 12.
Last year, Judge received his second MVP award in the last three seasons. Torkelson received his second demotion to Triple-A Toledo in the last three seasons. This is not to equate the two, but this year, Torkelson is raking like one of the most prolific hitters in the game.
"It’s only 20 games," he said prior to Saturday's win. "And what got me those 20 games is just being boring and simple. It’s obviously great to be on the same leaderboard as an unbelievable all-time hitter, but it’s 20 games. And the greats do it for 162 and beyond, so that’s what I’m striving for, is to be consistent throughout a whole season."
The adjustments Torkelson has made are subtle, but together, they add up to a more athletic, more instinctive hitter. He isn't overthinking each pitch as he has in the past, paralyzed by data. His approach is simpler, too, centered on trying to drive the ball over the second baseman's head. That has led to better swings on better pitches to hit, which has led to better results.
"When he goes up there, you can just see that he’s as confident as it gets and he knows he’s going to make something happen -- and that’s half the battle," said Greene. "He’s swinging at good pitches, he’s getting pitches he wants and he’s doing damage on those pitches. It’s going pretty good for him."
Torkelson isn't a jumpy hitter, never really has been. He's comfortable working deep into counts. He's consistently ranked near the top of the big leagues in pitches per plate appearance -- he's second on the Tigers this season at 4.27. (Greene is first, at 4.33). But Torkelson's patience at times has been passive. Not this year.
"I’m not gonna give in," he said. "If it’s the first pitch of the at-bat that I like or it’s the sixth pitch, I’m not afraid to get to two strikes, I’m not afraid to work the count and see some pitches. Some guys are just up there trying to get it over with, but it’s like, I’m looking for my pitch and if I don’t feel like I get my pitch, I’m not gonna swing (if I'm) not gonna do damage with it," he said.
To maintain this approach amid his struggles his first few years in the majors was "extremely hard," Torkelson said, especially as he tried to live up to his pedigree as a first overall pick. But it's paying dividends in year four. To A.J. Hinch, Torkelson is reaping the rewards of having "a process in place to go up and have a really good at-bat."
"The byproduct are the hits, especially when they’re huge hits with runners in scoring position, or guys on base, or late in games. He’s in control of his at-bats, and that’s the best thing you can say about a hitter at any time of the game when he walks up to the batter’s box. It’s not always perfect, it’s not always going to be, but he’s in control of his at-bats. That’s a comforting feeling when you’re hitting in the middle of the order," said Hinch.
And then there's this: Torkelson is doing as much damage against righties as lefties. That's a marked difference from his first three seasons, when he was much more potent against lefties. He had an OPS against right-handers of .629 last season. He's at 1.023 this season. Torkelson reiterated that he's "never had a discomfort against righties," but he's in a position now "to get my swing off as many times as possible against these guys."
Greene and Torkelson are neighbors in the Tigers clubhouse, close friends on a tight-knit team. They've been hailed as saviors for the organization since being drafted in consecutive years and climbing through the minors side by side. Greene rose to his first All-Star Game last season, while Torkelson sunk to unfathomable lows. Torkelson is climbing once more, with the Tigers on top of the AL Central.
"It’s the game of baseball, you’re going to fail," said Greene. "It’s just a matter of how you come back. And I would say we’re all super proud of him for the way he’s handled things. He’s been a pro about everything. He’s worked hard, he hasn't complained, he’s gone out there and he’s done his best. He had a big offseason, and it’s showing."
It's April 19. The season is 21 games old. But through 21 games last season, Torkelson hadn't hit a homer. He had an OPS of .669. He hit his seventh homer of the season Saturday, tied with Judge for second most in the AL, and pushed his OPS to 1.049. The Tigers are 13-8 and gaining steam, like the chant starting to sweep the crowd at Comerica Park.
"The fans love him," said Greene, "and I think it’s awesome that they’re getting behind him."
"I always believed," said Torkelson, "so I’m glad they maintained belief as well."