The Detroit Tigers offense broke through in a major way yesterday afternoon against the Texas Rangers, and it also happened to coincide with the debut of one particular highly touted prospect by the name of Riley Greene.
The Tigers scored a season-high 14 runs, eclipsing their previous season-high output of 13 against the Colorado Rockies in late April. The game also featured the most Tigers players (eight) to reach base multiple times since September of 2011. Needless to say, Detroit’s struggling offense desperately needed a game like that. And for Greene himself, it was a Major League Baseball debut that he’ll always remember.
Greene reached base four times over the course of the afternoon, the first MLB player to do so in his debut since Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins in 2018, and the first Tigers player to do so since Scott Livingstone in 1991.
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It was a great MLB debut for Riley Greene
“When I first got drafted, I came here and did some BP, I thought it was awesome,” he said. But this moment is even better. Yesterday was a dream come true – my family was here, I got to play in this park in front of the fans, and we won the game which was even more awesome.”
“I was a little nervous once the game started, but I just kind of breathed and told myself to have fun. Having fun relieves all that pressure.
And it wouldn’t be long before he’d collect his first MLB hit, a bloop single that sent the crowd at Comerica Park to their feet.
“It was an awesome moment,” he said of his 1st hit. “Once I got that hit, I feel like all the pressure was gone, and I could just play freely.”
Of course, Greene was happy to finally be in action in the Majors, which almost certainly would have come much earlier had it not been for a foot fracture that he sustained late in spring training.
“It was just kind of a weight lifted off my shoulders once I got here because I broke my foot and I was very bummed,” he said. “Once I got the call, I feel all that rehab and hard work finally paid off.”
Cameras also caught several shots of Greene’s family and friends in the stands, and they were certainly happy to see his success.
“My family and friends, I bet you were very emotional,” he said. “Didn’t know where they were sitting, but I could tell just from the videos that they were very emotional.”
