If Parker Meadows sticks in center and hits enough, everything fits for Detroit Tigers

LAKELAND, Fla. — The ring was the tricky part, just getting the right size.

“We wanted to go a little tighter, to be snug,” said Parker Meadows, the Detroit Tigers' rookie center fielder. “So I was very, very nervous of the ring size.”

The other part was even harder. All the lying — well, let’s call them half-truths — as Meadows spent time buying an engagement ring and set up the proposal.

“I felt bad to lie to her — ‘Why is this happening? Where were you this time?’” he said. “So that part was crappy.”

Meadows had it all planned out. He took a trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, with family and friends; he then set up the scene picture-perfect: a blanket on the sand, the ring, a bottle of bubbly.

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“She had no idea until we literally got right up to the blanket and I got down on a knee and asked her right there,” he said.

Yes, Hailey Sales said "yes," and when it became Instagram-official, his teammates — and even former coaches —weighed in with congratulations.

“I will invite myself to this beautiful wedding,” Brayan Peña, his former manager with the West Michigan Whitecaps, wrote on Instagram.

“Let’s go,” wrote Reese Olson, a Tigers teammate. “Happy for you guys.”

Meadows is one of 10 players in Tigers camp who got either engaged or married during the offseason. Then again, another day could bring another one with this group of youngsters.

“An MLB record,” Spencer Torkelson quipped, as Meadows talked with reporters Thursday in the Tigers' clubhouse.

Not taking anything for granted

So, that part of his life has changed dramatically. As has this: Meadows enters spring training penciled in as the Tigers everyday starter in center.

But he’s not taking that lightly.

“My mindset coming in is, there's no spot earned,” he said. “I still got to earn a spot. So gotta work hard and continue to do what I'm doing. I'm excited to be here with all the guys just ready to get to work.”

Meadows’ journey to the big leagues has been slow and meandering.

Meadows was drafted out of high school by the Tigers in the second round in 2018 — the year they took Casey Mize first overall — which kind of boggles the mind in several ways.

First, it seems as if Meadows has been around this organization forever.

But it’s important to remember Meadows is 24 years old — just two years older than Colt Keith, the Tigers’ latest phenom who is expected to start at second base.

For a while, Meadows was stuck in Grand Rapids. He spent parts of three seasons playing for the Whitecaps, both during their time in Low-A and then in High-A.

“I almost bought a house there,” Meadows joked.

When Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was told about Meadows’ joke, Hinch responded: “Yeah. I hope he feels that way about Detroit.”

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Earning a spot

After tweaking his approach and adjusting his swing, Meadows climbed to the big leagues, hitting .232 (with a .699 OPS) over 37 games in 2023.

“We ended up playing him all the time because he earned it,” Hinch said. “He's developing nicely.”

The defense has never been a problem for Meadows.  A natural, gifted center fielder, he was ready to play in Comerica Park years ago.

“The defense we take for granted a little bit — so graceful, so dynamic,” Hinch said. “His speed is so fun to watch and it's very easy to enjoy the parts of the game that come easy to him.”

The hitting has not come so easy, but he has improved through hard work and adjustments.

“What he's really done is his alter his swing and his approach to be a more well-rounded hitter,” Hinch said. “He could easily settle in as an impactful player, you know, on the bases and in the outfield and make a nice career for himself.”

But he wants more. He wants to be an everyday player.

In many ways, Meadows is an x-factor for this team.

When he is starting in center, Meadows gives the Tigers a plus defender, somebody with speed and range and the ability to make an outstanding play at any time. His presence in the lineup allows Riley Greene to move to a corner spot, reducing his risk of injury and letting him concentrate on what he was born to do — rake.

If Meadows struggles offensively — if Greene, or even someone else, has to occupy center — the entire lineup gets complicated.

Simply put, this team will be far better if Meadows is in center — and if he’s hitting.

But Meadows isn’t thinking that far ahead.

“That's what spring training is for, just get prepared for the season and whatever happens, happens,” he said. "It's all surreal."

So he will focus on what is in front of him, just working hard, getting better.

Just trying to make the team and not worrying about what happens. Because that's what worked from him last year.

Just trying to become the Tigers' everyday center fielder.

Yes, that has a nice ring to it.

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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

To read Seidel's recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers counting on Parker Meadows in center field