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.
By now, the story of a young Kevin McGonigle watching video of Tony Gwynn and Chase Utley so that his dad could teach him their swings has become legendary. The more McGonigle hits during his incredible rookie campaign, the more the story grows, a connection between generations.
But there are plenty of other memories the Tigers infielder has of his dad passing down his passion for the games while teaching lessons that would mold him into the player and person he is now. As McGonigle celebrates his first Father’s Day in the big leagues, those stand out.
“There’s a lot of good memories of us,” McGonigle said. “I remember when I was 12 years old, I hit a walk-off homer, might have been a grand slam. And I remember him climbing up the fence, yelling, so excited. That’s one of my favorite moments.
“And then, when it came to working out, just going to my buddy’s backyard. He bought a Jugs machine for me. He would have me back there, and we’d be hitting all different types and shapes of pitches. We spent a lot of hours back there, just working on my swing.”
That’s how McGonigle learned how to hit a breaking ball, and plenty more, before he got to high school.
“Once he bought that machine, he was spinning different stuff at me, stuff I’d never even seen before, like a split-finger. They had a setting on the machine to throw a split-finger. I saw the setting and I was like, ‘Splitter? What even is that?’ So I had my dad feed me some splitters, and I had a good sense of what a splitter was.”
Kevin George McGonigle dedicated a ton of time to helping foster his son’s love of the game along with his sweet swing. It was a labor of love for a blue-collar Philadelphian who works at the naval yard, barely a mile from the Phillies’ home at Citizens Bank Park, and would hurry home for work to either coach his son’s youth teams or work out with him. But it was also about more than hitting; he was trying to mold a complete player.
“We did a lot of infield work,” the younger McGonigle said. “I remember a local field, the Aldan Boys Club, that’s where I first grew up playing baseball. I remember going there a lot with him. We would hit batting practice, and then after that, it would be fungoes right at me. He’d be ripping them at me, and I’d use my body and knock the ball down and get the ball to first. We did a lot of work on the defensive side of the game.”
Nowadays, McGonigle catches a daily round of fungoes from Tigers coach Joey Cora, who is known for testing his infielders. Asked who hits them tougher, McGonigle laughed.
“I’d say my dad was a little tougher, yeah,” he said.
His dad could be his toughest coach and critic, but also his biggest supporter. Along the way, he taught lessons that stick with him today.
“I think we both had the same mindset,” McGonigle said. “I think we both knew what I wanted to do when I got older, and at such a young age, knowing what it takes to get better and better each day and prepare for high school baseball before I was in high school, and then to prepare for whatever level was next. It takes a lot of hard work and someone pushing you to get better each day.
“Once I got older and matured a little bit, he kinda stepped away [from coaching] a little bit. Just keeping that same mindset we had growing up, the way he pushed me to keep that same mindset going to practices with coaches really, really helped me get better, and better as a person, too.”
Watching McGonigle’s parents seeing their son succeed has been almost as fun as watching the rookie himself. They had a big gathering of family and friends at Joker Marchant Stadium in Spring Training. When he made his MLB debut in San Diego, they were in the stands, having flown across the country. When the Tigers announced McGonigle’s extension at Comerica Park in April, mom and dad were in the front of the room.
“Mom and dad watch every single game,” McGonigle said. “My dad, of course, gives me his feedback on the game, and then he gives me feedback on other games as well, because he’s just a fan when it comes to the game. To have someone with that point of view of the game is very helpful, because they see things that maybe I won’t see out there, maybe little tweaks and stuff like that.
“I try to listen and learn as much as I can from him, because he’s a big reason why I got here.”