How Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson developed a thick skin to his own voice

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How Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson developed a thick skin to his own voice

Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press · Detroit Free Press

Fri, Feb 16, 2024 ·

6 min read

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LAKELAND, Fla. — Spencer Torkelson looks so comfortable.

One moment, he is at first base, taking grounders, ranging far to his right, working to improve his weakness — that's so significant.

The next moment, he is sitting on a bench next to the field, hanging out with Riley Greene . Yes, they are still close . When Torkelson flew into the Orlando airport on a red eye, it was Greene who picked him up at the airport at 5:30 a.m. — "A good friend," Torkelson understated.

The next moment, Torkelson is taking batting practice, in a group with Greene of course, and Torkelson is just flicking balls over the fence.

So effortlessly.

Torkelson is a different player than when the Detroit Tigers drafted him first overall in 2020, and he's different person than he was just a year ago, at least in spring training, coming off a season of struggles in 2022.

"I feel just a little more comfortable, a little more confident," Torkelson said. "And I feel like I got a little more drive to take this game the next step, especially as a team."

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Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024.

It's like the rough start to his career — all the pressure and failures and struggles and dark nights — and ultimately the success that came last season have hardened him.

Calloused him.

But not in a bad way.

Torkelson is still friendly and approachable. He's still a good dude.

But maybe, the callouses are all internal — at least, that's what his teammates say.

"I think there's a level of knowing yourself that comes with experience," said Ryan Kreidler , who has a locker next to Torkelson. "You can't mimic the experience of playing in the big leagues, succeeding in the big leagues or failing in the big leagues; and now he's gone through both. I think through that you develop a thicker skin to where when times are good, you don't ride the high and when you're not playing well, you understand that everything has an end."

Not a thick skin against external talk — that's never bothered Torkelson.

But a thick skin against that internal voice and darkness that can strike in baseball, when the game gets hard and the strikeouts mount and the pressure builds and the ball looks like a BB.

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"I've been with Tork for a while," Jake Rogers said. "He has grown, man. I mean, it's incredible."

Rogers and Torkelson have been together since they were in Toledo in 2020 at the Tigers' alternative training site, during the crazy COVID-19-shortened season.

"He lived right next door to me," Rogers said. "So we hung out a lot and he's grown a lot, and it's been so fun to watch him grow. It's just kind of finding his groove and figuring out who he is, and it's awesome."

Who is Torkelson?

A 30-homer hitter who has just scratched the surface of his talent.

A guy who is itching to get even better.

"I thought it was a good year but nowhere near what I believe I'm capable of," he said about the 2023 season in which he hit 31 homers and drove in 94 runs. "You definitely take some excitement out of it, like, all right, I belong here. What can I learn from it and work on whatever I can in the offseason. It gave me a little extra motivation. Like, all right, I'm here but we can get even further."

Working on weaknesses

On Thursday afternoon, Joey Cora, the Tigers new infield coach , was hitting grounders to Torkelson on a back field.

"Oh, that's nice!" Cora said, after Torkelson scooped up a ball to his right. "That's my guy!"

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch broke into a smile.

This is progress.

Last year, defensive metrics showed that Torkelson struggled to field balls to his right.

"I didn't see the metrics," Torkelson said.

But he asked his coaches about them.

"Michael Brdar, our hitting coach, was an infield guy so I asked him to look some metrics out for me and to kind of explain 'em," Torkelson said.

Brdar and Torkelson worked out together in the offseason.

"He was my ground ball guy," Torkelson said, "so he gave me all the shortstop drills he could about going to the right."

How many?

"I didn't count," he smiled. "Just until my legs feel like they are gonna fall off."

Why did a generally competent fielder — remember, the Tigers were confident he could shift to third base coming out of college — suddenly struggle defensively?

Maybe he got lazy during the days of the elaborate infield shift.

"My first instinct was, any ball to my right, just get to the bag," he said.

And his range shrunk.

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson gets ready for practice during spring training at Tigertown in Lakeland, Fla. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

When he finally realized it, it was the middle of last season, the first with the new rules banning the shift. It was hard to improve playing every day.

So, he's back working on expanding his range.

Keep his story in mind

After watching Torkelson come to Detroit with so much hype, he offers a cautionary reminder for all of these Tigers youngsters still early in their pro careers — development is not linear and struggles are to be expected.

The real key is learning how to make adjustments. That's the real growth.

"When we had our exit interview, we congratulated him for the adjustments," Hinch said. "When you are uber-talented with a high profile and notable before you take your first at-bat, that comes with a ton of spotlight and a ton of responsibility. And it wasn't a smooth ride for him once he got to the big leagues."

He was sent back to Toledo in 2022 at the All-Star break before returning to the majors in September. Opening 2023, he hit the ball hard at first, but didn't get results.

Then, he blossomed at the end.

"Then you look up and the scoreboard looks pretty good," Hinch said. "The numbers he was putting up were pretty impactful. ... He's got a ton of talent and he's getting confident with what he has to do to be good. Now our job is to raise the bar another inch and see how he responds."

Yes, the bar keeps rising.

That part never changes.

But he looks so ready for it.

"He was already a professional player," Kreidler said. "But now he strikes everyone as a certified big leaguer, can handle himself in the clubhouse, can handle himself in his work. Just an impressive guy."

Indeed — impressive is the perfect word. In how he handled the failures but also in how he handled a season with 30 homers and also what he's doing now.

When you see him scoop up a ball with his glove on the back fields, or when you see him flick a ball over the fence with his bat, you realize how dang good he can be.

Everything looks so effortless.

So comfortable.

Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff .

To read Seidel's recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson developed thick skin against himself

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