34 orders!? McGonigle leads Tigers rookies on legendary Wrigleyville coffee run

CHICAGO – Kevin McGonigle has handled everything thrown on his plate so far in his incredible rookie season, from his Major League debut to the leadoff spot in the Tigers’ batting order to regular duty at shortstop after Javier Báez went on the injured list. On Tuesday, McGonigle had a lot more on his hands: Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

“Thirty-four,” McGonigle said of the order count.

Welcome to the rookie coffee run, Wrigley Field edition. Tigers rookies, dressed in full uniform, walking to the nearby Starbucks and grabbing orders for Tigers players and staff.

It’s a tradition for many visiting teams at Wrigley. The Tigers have done it in other cities in the past, too, including in Seattle in 2022, when Miguel Cabrera joined the rookies – including Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson – in the half-mile walk to the Starbucks closest to T-Mobile Park prior to the final game of the season.

“One of the better traditions in baseball is that walk across the street to Starbucks in Chicago at Wrigley, young guys in full uniform,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I hope that never goes away. We only get to do it every other year, so we make a point of it.”

McGonigle was put in charge, but other Tigers rookies joined in, including Troy Melton, Hao-Yu Lee, Drew Sommers and Ben Malgeri. So did Ty Madden, who still qualifies as a rookie despite making his big league debut in 2024, and Drew Anderson, who technically shed his rookie status in 2021 with Texas, but returned to the Majors this season after four seasons in Japan and Korea.

“I tried to order the most complicated one that I could,” Hinch said. “I thought of anything that you could split and tried to order it to make it difficult on them. They delivered it as ordered.”

When told McGonigle was in charge, Hinch said, “He should’ve treated the whole coffee shop.”

Thankfully, one of the Tigers veterans provided a card to pay for the order. McGonigle, who signed an eight-year, $150 million extension early in the season, is still on the hook for a team dinner at some point this year.