SAN DIEGO -- Kevin McGonigle should’ve been a nervous wreck Thursday morning. He’d been up late waiting for his parents to land from Philadelphia, flying cross country to see their son make his MLB debut. Like a kid on Christmas Eve, he had too much energy to sleep. As much as he tried to keep it like just another game, there were too many obvious reasons it wasn’t.
“Probably got around four hours of sleep last night,” said McGonigle, who got an hour of sleep for every hit he posted in the Tigers’ 8-2 Opening Day win. “But woke up feeling great, ready to go.”
McGonigle took the early bus to Petco Park, same as his manager. He walked the hallways adorned by reminders of Tony Gwynn, the Hall of Fame hitter whose sweet left-handed swing his dad talked frequently about when he was growing up. He waited for his turn in the Tigers' lineup, batting sixth.
And then he put on a show.
“He won't be as nervous as that [first] at-bat,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “And if that's the nervous version of him, we're in for a fun year.”
Baseball's No. 2 prospect didn’t have to wait long to get his chance to make an impact, becoming the second player in Tigers history -- and the 21st Major Leaguer since 1900 -- with a four-hit game in his Major League debut.
The historic performance was a demonstration of why the Tigers believe McGonigle has a chance to be a special player, starting with the first pitch he saw.
“Yeah, I was nervous,” McGonigle said. “It's weird, I felt like right when I started my load to hit, it just went away.”
Hinch batted McGonigle sixth to make sure he wouldn’t have to wait long for his first at-bat, but not put him under pressure. But the Tigers’ early attack brought him up early, and in a big spot.
The at-bats unfolded quickly ahead of McGonigle as Detroit pounced on early struggles from Padres starter Nick Pivetta. Four consecutive Tigers reached safely after Kerry Carpenter’s leadoff strikeout, including back-to-back walks to Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson.
After Greene battled through a full count for a walk that loaded the bases, Torkelson took four pitches out of the zone to force in a run. Pivetta had thrown five consecutive balls when McGonigle stepped to the plate for the first time in the big leagues.
McGonigle showed an ability to be patient yet opportunistic in Spring Training, a reflection of his innate ability to judge the strike zone and recognize pitches on which he can do damage. When Pivetta’s first pitch cut into the middle of the zone, Detroit's top prospect pounced.
“I knew he was going up with something firm,” McGonigle said. “He threw it right in the spot I was looking at, and I was happy to pull it down the line.”
The Tigers’ dugout roared as McGonigle made the turn around first and Greene followed Colt Keith home, turning a 1-0 game into a 3-0 advantage. McGonigle slid into second and flexed, much to his teammates’ delight.
“I remember when I was going through my debut, I couldn't even feel my body, didn't really know what was happening,” Greene said. “It looked like that was his 700th game out there. It was pretty impressive to see.”
The first inning presented the kind of opportunity the Tigers have looked to become more ruthless at converting for two seasons. And it’s the kind of impact they think McGonigle can make as a 21-year-old rookie whose mature approach and disciplined at-bats allowed him to bypass Triple-A Toledo and become the youngest Tiger to start on Opening Day since Omar Infante in 2003.
“We don’t need him to be the savior,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Wednesday. “We don’t need him to carry us. We just need him to help us. This roster is pretty darn good with or without Kevin. We just think it’s better with him on it, and that’s why he’s here.”
Two innings later, McGonigle’s second double was a better example of how tenacious a hitter he can be. Pivetta put him in an 0-2 hole, but McGonigle declined to chase -- not the 0-2 high fastball, nor the 1-2 curveball in the dirt. Pivetta tried to challenge him with a fastball at the top of the zone, and McGonigle crushed it, a 105.9 mph line drive off the wall.
“Kind of the same approach I have with two strikes, just go up there and battle,” McGonigle said. “It's me versus him, and I have to keep that same mindset that I'm better than the guy on that mound. Fell down 0-2 and was able to battle back and get a barrel on the ball.”
While McGonigle returned to second, Torkelson -- whose single led off the inning -- rolled into third. Both scored on Parker Meadows’ one-out bloop single, extending Detroit’s lead to 6-0 and giving starter Tarik Skubal ample support.
“Phenomenal,” Skubal said. “He's a special talent. He doesn't need any help. He just needs to be Kevin, and he's a really good baseball player. He proved it today.”
McGonigle, having shown off his plate discipline and power, saved his speed for his third hit, a slow grounder back up the middle that forced shortstop Xander Bogaerts to charge from behind second base. McGonigle raced down the line, reaching an elite sprint speed of 30.2 feet per second to beat the throw. Dillon Dingler allowed him to trot home by hitting a two-run home run off the facing of the second deck in left field for an 8-0 lead.
“You gotta love those infield singles,” McGonigle said. “I was just happy I was able to beat that out.”
Once McGonigle lined a two-out single in the ninth off Wandy Peralta, he joined Billy Bean (April 25, 1987) as the only players in Tigers history with four hits in their MLB debut. The list of other Major Leaguers to do it includes Hall of Famers Willie McCovey, Kirby Puckett and Willie Keeler.
“I guess I have to start not sleeping before every game,” McGonigle said with a smile.