[The Athletic](https://theathletic.com/3558644/2022/09/02/spencer-torkelson-return-tigers-callup/?source=emp_shared_article)
> “We could go down a deep, dark rabbit hole of things it could have been,” Torkelson said.
> That quote should give you an idea of what the past six weeks have been like for Torkelson: Long sessions in the cage, various mechanical tweaks at the plate, long nights of film sessions. Lots of hitting rabbit holes, dark ones and deep ones.
> Torkelson started slowly in Toledo. He had nights where he would hit the ball hard but would not get the desired result. And finally, over the past two weeks, he found some success. Torkelson hit .319 over his final 13 games with Triple-A Toledo.
> “Obviously it wasn’t easy,” Torkelson said. “It was a tough road, and it had to get worse before it got better, honestly. Had to try some things out. ‘Like, hey, does that work?’ I’d try it for a couple days. Looked terrible? All right, move onto the next thing and just keep grinding every single day until my old cues start to click and start to feel like myself again.”
> Torkelson paused for just a split-second.
> “Which was really relieving,” he said, “because it’s been a while since I’ve felt that.”
> In the days ahead, we will see whether Torkelson is returning to Detroit as a reinvented hitter. His adjustments in the minors appear more subtle than drastic. He is distributing weight better throughout his swing, staying more athletic rather than locking himself with a stiff front leg. He is standing closer to the plate, something he does not consider a major factor.
> But Torkelson’s hands and bat path will be the most telling. He struggled with a grooved, circular bat path that kept him from hunting pitches with his hands. The Tigers would like to see Torkelson simply look more like a natural hitter than a robot in the box.
> “When things started finally to click a little bit, I felt my mind rest,” Torkelson said. “I’d go home from the field and I’d be like, ‘I didn’t think about where my hands were today. That’s a win.’”
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> “I don’t want him to erase anything,” Hinch said. “I want him to use it as lessons learned. Not to get too philosophical, but in all aspects of life, there’s the success and failure portion of life. You use those failures to fuel whatever’s next for you.”
3 comments
Not to pile on Coolbaugh anymore, but I think having the AAA hitting coach with the team for the last month, working with them in the cage will be great. He’s already worked with and helped Tork, Greene, Carpenter, Kreidler, Baddoo. Maybe he can capture some of that magic here in the big leagues out of those guys.
>But Torkelson’s hands and bat path will be the most telling. He struggled with a grooved, circular bat path that kept him from hunting pitches with his hands. The Tigers would like to see Torkelson simply look more like a natural hitter than a robot in the box.
That’s the key IMO, along with the uppercut trajectory. I also think that Miguel can potentially help him a lot in this regard.
I wish JD Martinez could be our hitting coach.