NEW YORK – Casey Mize was there at the start of A.J. Hinch’s Tigers managerial tenure, so it was fitting he was on the mound for Hinch’s 1,000th win as a Major League manager.
And yet, the fact that Mize nearly wasn’t there at the start five years ago might say more about what Hinch has done.
Much of Hinch’s first Spring Training in charge in Detroit was about competition, about talented young players having to earn their spot. Mize was the first overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, and he was one of baseball’s top prospects going into 2021. But for Spring Training that year, he was battling for a rotation spot with 2017 All-Star Michael Fulmer, former Braves ace Julio Teheran and fellow prospect Tarik Skubal.
Mize’s quest took until the final days of camp. But he ultimately showed enough of what Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter wanted to see to earn a spot – some of it pitching level, some of it compete level.
Five years later, the milestone win of Hinch’s career was arguably the best win of Mize’s. With seven scoreless innings, one hit, no walks and 10 strikeouts, Mize tossed a gem Monday night at Yankee Stadium in a 7-3 win that threw Hinch into elite company.
“It’s a great feeling to get to a milestone with this group of players,” Hinch said. “I told them this game is about players, it’s always been about players.”
Hinch is the 68th manager in MLB history to win 1,000 games and the second active manager, joining Cincinnati’s Terry Francona (2,072 wins in 25 seasons). The Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, who entered Monday night's game with 998 in his 12 seasons, could join them shortly. Hinch has picked up 430 of those wins with the Tigers, who have transformed over his tenure from a club seemingly stuck in a rebuild to a franchise that expects to win and has back-to-back American League postseason berths, with a playoff series win in both years.
“We got him in a cart, did a little beer shower for him,” Mize said. “It was good. We love to celebrate when players reach certain milestones, get their first hit or first homer or whatever. To be able to celebrate our leader is pretty cool for us.
“It’s rewarding to see how far we’ve come from when he first got here, how much things have changed. And he’s at the forefront of that. Super proud and happy for him.”
Mize might be the epitome of the shift in expectations. He’s a pitcher once drenched in potential whose path through two lost seasons to Tommy John and back surgeries – and through a return in 2024 that ended with him out of Detroit’s postseason plans – has finally led him to the intersection of potential with performance. His 2.63 ERA would rank second among AL starters if he had enough innings to qualify, his 0.97 WHIP third.
Mize’s lone baserunner Monday was a Spencer Jones opposite-field double leading off the third inning, one of just four balls to reach the outfield against him. He not only retired his final 15 batters from there, he struck out five of his last six. Mize’s 88th and final pitch of the night was a slider at the bottom of the zone, located so well that he kept walking off the mound as Oswaldo Cabrera challenged the called strike. Mize was just about in the dugout when the ABS replay on Yankee Stadium’s giant video board showed that he was right.
Mize earned 13 whiffs on 37 swings, and he allowed just two balls in play with a triple-digit exit velocity, both of which went for an out. He followed Jones’ double in the third by fanning Austin Wells on a splitter he threw so hard (90.2 mph) that it initially registered as a sinker on Statcast.
Mize did all this against a Yankees lineup that had peppered him for eight hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 loss just six days earlier at Comerica Park. Aside from occasional twists in pitch selection to give hitters a different look, Mize said it was the same plan.
Asked if this was as good as any game he has pitched in the big leagues, Mize said, “Probably. There are a few others that come to mind, but this one was really good execution. The box score looks good, too. So it’s nice when those two line up.”
The same could be said when a single-game performance results in a career milestone.
“Obviously, the coaches have been talking about it,” Hinch said. “The players all had great words. I’ll always say this game’s about players, but it takes a long time to get to a milestone, and hopefully there’s many more ahead.”