A Tiger welcomed by rival fans during a pennant race?

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck's Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The boos rained down from the crowd at Progressive Field as the Tigers' starting lineup was announced Tuesday night. Some players drew more derision than others, such as Tigers postseason hero Kerry Carpenter and Spencer Torkelson. But everybody got booed -- except for catcher Dillon Dingler.

There’s a good reason for that. Though Dingler plays for the Guardians’ hated division rival, he is one of their own. He was born and raised down the road in Massillon, where he was a three-sport star and led Jackson High School to state titles in baseball and basketball. He was even a second-team all-state punter. He stayed close to home to play college ball at Ohio State, where he was an All-Big Ten catcher and served as team captain in back-to-back years.

Dingler is as Ohio as it gets -- except in the big leagues. When the Tigers drafted him in 2020, he knew it would be an adjustment, not just for him, but for his family.

Five years later, Dingler is one of the core pieces of a Tiger team that seemed set to run away with the AL Central -- until the Guardians made a late-season charge. Now, what looked like a late-season homecoming is a venture into enemy territory for a heated division race. But Dingler doesn’t get quite the same treatment.

“I heard a lot of 'O-H' this trip,” he said.

When Dingler picked off Guardians infielder Gabriel Arias at first base in Tuesday’s series opener, there was a small smattering of applause at different pockets of the ballpark. For some former high-school and college teammates, the strong arm was a familiar sight.

“My whole family” grew up Cleveland fans, Dingler said, but they’ve had to adjust.

“Even my in-laws, I have some big Guardians fans on my wife’s side,” he said. “And they’re all repping Detroit.”

And it might not be done. As the Tigers left town late Thursday night, they knew they could be right back here in a few days. If the current standings hold and the Tigers take the third AL Wild Card spot, they would be back at Progressive Field next Tuesday for a best-of-three Wild Card Series. If the Tigers retake the AL Central lead and earn their first division title since 2014, they could potentially meet in a Wild Card Series in Detroit.

By that point, these two teams -- and their fan bases -- might be sick of each other, having played potentially nine games against each other over two-plus weeks. By the end of this week’s series, Cleveland fans seemed to be getting weary of diplomacy at Dingler. A couple boos emerged by the end of Wednesday’s game.

Those weren’t from family, of course. But if they get tickets, are they required to rep Tigers gear?

“Maybe,” Dingler said with a smile.