Unexpected hero
Let's start with the first half of the season. Cuban infielder Andy Ibáñez was having the best moment of his career at the plate. His offensive performance was progressive after overcoming a left hamstring strain in early April. Ibáñez posted a .573 OPS in April, .736 in May and .824 in June. But then July came and in the second half of the season he began to decline.
Still, he was a useful player for the Detroit Tigers. He played five key positions on defense and in four of them he had elite records in defensive runs saved. But, as Ibáñez's plate appearances accumulated, his regression began to worry.
He finished September with the worst OPS (.430) of his career in any month in which he accumulated at least 40 trips to the plate. So, entering the Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, this was the recent record of Cuban Andy Ibañez:
Last 365 days: .241/.294/.355/.650, 5 HR, 33 RBI
Last 28 days: .171/.244/.195/.440, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Last 14 days: .100/.217/.150/.367, 0 HR, 0 RBI
His slugging percentage dropped .200 points during the second half of the season. I think you can easily see the terrible decline in Ibañez's performance at the plate. However, manager A. J. Hinch maintained faith in him. Of course, there were compelling reasons to keep Ibañez in the lineup for the Wild Card Series. Dominican lefty Framber Valdez was announced as the starter for Game 1 for the Houston Astros. Valdez's left-handed status opened up an unmissable opportunity for Ibañez, who has hit consistently against left-handed pitchers all year.
Even through his worst struggles at the plate, Ibañez was able to get off good swings against left-handed pitchers. The statistics are ridiculously inverse. Ibañez has been just as timely against left-handed pitchers as he has been inefficient against right-handed pitchers.
2024 vs LHP: .292/.357/.445/.802, 4 HR, 24 RBI
2024 vs RHP: .161/.189/.218/.407, 1 HR, 8 RBI
To reinforce his batting eye against left-handed pitching this year, Ibañez went 1-for-2 with a double in two meetings against Framber during Game 1. Once Framber was replaced by right-hander Hector Neris, Hinch thanked Ibañez for his contribution and sent Colt Keith in as a pinch hitter.
Ibáñez fulfilled his role and was key in the Tigers' 3-1 success in Game 1. We should also give credit to Hinch, who has known how to handle his pieces. And there was no better stage to demonstrate it than his strategic moves in the top of the eighth inning.
With the game tied 2-2, Hinch sent Andy Ibáñez to pinch-hit for Zach McKinstry. The change may have surprised many. After a sensational tie, Ibáñez came to the plate at the key moment of the game against Astros closer, left-hander Josh Hader.
The bases were loaded with two outs.