Detroit Tigers' Matthew Boyd didn't meet expectations. Why he now has a 'clear direction'
If it were the World Series, Detroit Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd might feel differently. He would think twice about every pitch he threw and every mistake he made.
But the Tigers aren't close to the World Series. They stumbled into a 60-game season — coming off 114 losses in 2019 — and finished 23-35. They were last in the American League Central for the fourth time in six years.
"It's not like that last pitch is just a taste in your mouth and you're riding it out for the whole offseason," Boyd said Saturday. "That'd be kind of short-sighted, doing a real injustice to the rest of the season."
[ The Free Press has started a digital subscription model. Here's how you can gain access to our most exclusive Tigers content. ]
Boyd's last pitch was an 81.4 mph change-up to get Kansas City Royals outfielder Edward Olivares to fly out in foul territory to complete a scoreless sixth inning and cap his 2020 season with a three-run performance .
It was a season of struggles for Boyd, but he looks at his 6.71 ERA and 1.47 WHIP across 12 starts — with an MLB-leading 45 earned runs and 15 home runs — as a major opportunity for growth in his career. Also, he had 60 strikeouts, 22 walks in his 60⅓ innings.
[ Tigers now at crossroads: 'Rebuild is almost over' ]
The 29-year-old, who started Opening Day, failed to meet expectations. His slider didn't help him much, so he drastically altered his approach by limiting that pitch and increasing the use of his change-up. It wasn't always pretty, but Boyd said he now has a "very clear direction" going into the offseason.
"Constant work in progress," Boyd said. "This happened for a reason. Really opened my eyes to how good that pitch is (change-up), same with the curveball. There's a lot of blessings in this year, a lot of ways to grow from it. Really thankful for that."
Specifically, Boyd went to his slider 22.7% of the time, down from 36.1% last season. He change-up soared to 17.2%, a boost from a mere 6.0%. His curveball went from 4.0% to 7.5%, while his fastball stayed about the same (49.9% in 2019, 48.9% in 2020).
The numbers began to improve after his fourth start of the season, when he gave up seven runs Aug. 12 to the Chicago White Sox. He had allowed 22 earned runs in 19⅓ innings but made small improvements the rest of the way, including a 5⅔ scoreless innings effort on Sept. 15 against the Royals.
But he still got torched for seven runs by the Milwaukee Brewers in a historic 19-0 loss Sept. 9 at Comerica Park. Two starts later, he gave up five runs in a 7-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians.
[ Why the 2020 Tigers have the worst rotation in franchise history ]
The starting rotation Boyd was supposed to anchor sank. It finished with an MLB-worst 6.37 ERA — second-worst in franchise history. Outside of right-hander Spencer Turnbull's 3.97 ERA, the other four (Boyd, Michael Fulmer, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal) were above the 5.00 mark.
"The best is yet to come," Boyd said. "I think that the experience that the young guys got was great. Those guys are already champing at the bit to apply what they want going forward. If you would've told them that we got 30 games of bonus baseball, they'd be licking their chops, ready to keep going with that.
"I think Spencer did amazing in growing this year. He took what he learned last year and continued to go forward. He's so talented. And then you've got Michael. The toughest step (from Tommy John surgery) was getting back on the mound. He's doing it."
More on Tigers:
Casey Mize's bright future remains intact despite struggles
Where Michael Fulmer is headed after 'trial run' in 2020
What Spencer Turnbull needs to be a frontline starter for years
Why Tarik Skubal was ahead of the curve in 2020
Regardless of how much Boyd struggled, others in the rotation still look to him as a leader. He has pitched 134 games across six years in the majors.
And as a leader, Boyd gave his projection of what the future holds.
"I really like our staff, and I like our rotation. It's going to be a lot of fun going forward with it. We're all learning, myself included. I learned more than I ever have in a season. Learned more about myself and the game. My eyes were open, and I think that goes for everybody on the staff.
"Talk is cheap. We're just going to show it when the time comes."
Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. The Free Press has started a new digital subscription model. Here's how you can gain access to our most exclusive Detroit Tigers content.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Matthew Boyd has 'clear direction' after 2020 woes
