Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch turned his head and looked to home plate at Comerica Park, where outfielders Akil Baddoo and Derek Hill were taking swings off the pitching machine before Tuesday's series opener with the Los Angeles Angels.
"Well, it looks like they're hitting," Hinch said sarcastically.
His two youngest and most exciting outfielders — the 23-year-old Baddoo and the 25-year-old Hill — are working back from injuries sustained Aug. 10 in a frightening full-speed collision in Baltimore. The worst-case scenarios were eliminated the next day: Baddoo landed on the seven-day concussion protocol injured list and Hill went to the 10-day IL with a left ribcage contusion.