HOUSTON — Before the ball landed fair and the runners blazed around the bases, before the champagne popped and another party ensued, before all the pinch hits and the visualizations and the September struggle, there was a boy in Cuba.
The boy grew up dreaming of moments like this. As he grew into a young man, he defected from his home country in pursuit of such ambitions. He traveled to Haiti and crossed into the Dominican Republic, supported by street trainers who saw his promise as a ballplayer. But even as that boy blossomed into a big leaguer, this sort of stage felt far away. He did not debut until he was 28. Two falls ago, the Texas Rangers put him on waivers. He came to the Detroit Tigers with opportunity, a right-handed-hitting specialist who epitomized the winning-on-the-margins style manager A.J. Hinch and president of baseball operations Scott Harris have infused into the team’s DNA.
But he played on a team that was eight games under .500 in August. His bat went dreadfully cold even as his teammates staged a remarkable rally to the postseason.
“Never. Never, ever,” Ibáñez said through an interpreter when asked Wednesday if he could have envisioned such a postseason moment. “I’ve been in the big leagues for a couple years. Every time (in the playoffs), I just watch the Astros on TV.”
ANDY IBÁÑEZ CLEARS THE BASES!
THE GRITTY TIGS!!! pic.twitter.com/D0eYmY8Mjj
— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2024
Yet in the eighth inning of Game 2 in the American League Wild Card Series, Ibáñez stood on the dirt in front of the Tigers’ dugout. He lurked and envisioned success as left-handed Houston Astros powerhouse Josh Hader warmed up. He took mock swings and repeated his stride with every pitch Hader threw. Ibáñez did all this as a hitter with just a .161 batting average since July 21. Once the Tigers’ best clutch performer, he had driven in only two runs in 25 games. His numbers tumbled across the board, and yet he still finished the season with an .802 OPS against left-handed pitching.
The Tigers, too, maintained their faith. They had Ibáñez hit leadoff in late-season games, an attempt to help him rediscover his swing. They placed him on the postseason roster for his track record as a venomous chess piece. “His confidence is key for us,” Hinch said. “But our confidence in him is equally important.”
Now the board was unfolding in his favor. Hader entered to face Spencer Torkelson with two runners aboard and two outs in the eighth inning. The score was tied at 2. The Tigers had escaped disaster numerous times.
These are the moments Ibáñez lives for. Wednesday morning, he had chatted with countryman and friend Adolis García, who slayed the Astros in last year’s postseason. Ibáñez retreated to the cage with switch-hitting teammate Wenceel Pérez as early as the second inning of Wednesday’s game, wanting to be loose and prepared. Ibáñez is constantly on the top step of the dugout. He is the lone Tiger who sits in on his own pitchers’ bullpen sessions — that is how much he craves the visual of live pitching.
“He’s literally pacing in the dugout,” Hinch said. “And as soon as the lefty did as much as pick up a ball, Andy’s got his helmet on and he’s ready.”
Hader entered and Torkelson walked, so up came Ibáñez. He promptly got down 0-2 against one of the game’s most imposing relief pitchers. Opponents hit only .114 against the long-haired lefty after 0-2 counts this season.
Ibáñez, though, took a sinker outside and then fouled off a difficult sinker up and in. Hader’s fifth consecutive sinker started in and broke over the heart of the plate. Ibáñez unleashed, ripping a drive down the left-field line at 105 mph. Into the corner and out of view for much of the ballpark, the ball hit dirt and rattled against the wall.
As the crowd fell silent, Matt Vierling scored from third. Colt Keith ran home from second, yelling as he crossed the plate. Torkelson came wheeling around the bases from first, sliding in safe and flexing his arms as he emerged from the dirt.
“I’ve never tried so hard to run so fast in my entire life,” Torkelson said.
Spencer Torkelson comes in to score on Andy Ibáñez’s bases-clearing double in the eighth. (Thomas Shea / Imagn Images)
At third base, Ibáñez lifted his arms and motioned toward the crowd. The Tigers gripped a 5-2 lead that held for the final score. The air was sucked out of Minute Maid Park. And as his team advanced to the ALDS to face the Cleveland Guardians, Ibáñez became baseball’s latest unlikely postseason hero.
“As soon as I made the contact, I was just pushing for the ball to be fair,” said Ibáñez, who doubled and advanced to third on the throw home. “Most importantly, I was pushing for the runners on the base to go, go, go, go, go.
“As soon as I got to second base, I saw the Tigers fans on top of our dugout, and it was a very touching and emotional moment.”
The Tigers’ Wednesday victory again served as a proper symbol of their improbable path to this point. Tyler Holton served as their opener. Hinch built pitching bridges from inning to inning, just trying to get to the proverbial next out. The Tigers’ lineup took its lumps from Houston starter (and Detroit native) Hunter Brown.
In a game that operated with the weight of a soccer match — back and forth, tension in the air, grimaces and smirks every time a ball left the bat — the character of the victory was Brenan Hanifee, striking out Jason Heyward to end the second. It was Brant Hurter slinging his sinker and getting a crucial fourth-inning double play. It was Beau Brieske firing paint on the edge of the strike zone, Zach McKinstry heaving a throw across the diamond, and Sean Guenther relieving Jackson Jobe and generating another coveted groundball.
For all the moments in which the Tigers looked failure in the eye and refused to concede, none was bigger than the ball Ibáñez hit to change the game. The Tigers’ mesmerizing run continues to exude vibes of destiny. And so of course it was a player like Ibáñez vanquishing his demons and providing the biggest thrill yet in a season full of them.
With one swing of the bat, he drove in more runs than he had in over a month.
With one moment, his entire journey was validated.
“I love that kid,” Hinch said. “I love how prepared he is, and I love that he stayed in the mindset that he was going to get big at-bats when he went through a really rough September and things weren’t as heroic as they are today.”
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(Top photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
