Alex Lange, the Tigers turtlenecked reliever, is becoming a force

June 29, 2024

CLEVELAND — On April 13, the Detroit Tigers had lost six games in a row, and Alex Lange was entering from the bullpen to pitch the ninth inning.

Just above him, in the renovated Rogers Centre, Blue Jays fans were chanting. “Turtle-neck! Turtle-neck!”

Perhaps that is when Lange’s undershirt of choice officially arrived as a staple. Lange shut down the Blue Jays to earn his first save of the season. The Tigers are 13-9 from that night on, with a disjointed bullpen suddenly pitching as well as any in the league. No member of the Tigers’ bullpen has been more important than Lange. And no article of clothing has become as recognizable as Lange’s sleeveless turtleneck.

So how, exactly, did this whole turtleneck thing get started?

“The origin?” Lange said one morning last week. “I didn’t invent it. People have been wearing it for a hundred years.”

This is Lange. Part playful, part intense, part zen. It makes for a fascinating combination fitting for the odd mix of characters you can find in a major-league bullpen.

The true story: Lange grew up watching Chipper Jones, and he owned a few turtlenecks himself as a kid. One day last year, Lange was talking with a friend he played with in the minor leagues. The suggestion popped up out of thin air.

“He said, ‘I think it’s got some velo in it,’” Lange said.

So Lange donned a turtleneck — though first he cut off the sleeves.

“If I’m in a game, no sleeves for me,” he said.

Lange threw well, and the rest is history.

“I did it jokingly, and now it’s kind of stuck,” Lange said. “We won that game and just kind of ran with it.”

Lange had a 3.41 ERA last season and was one of the Tigers’ most reliable relievers. His role has only grown so far in 2023.

Just last weekend, after Lange struck out three St. Louis Cardinals and came off the mound pumping his fist, his postgame explanation for handling the moment was so simple it seemed profound: “Just chill and make pitches.”

Alex Lange talks about his save to clinch the Tigers 5-4 win and Detroit's bullpen getting clutch outs. #RepDetroit pic.twitter.com/rDHVGigX6n

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) May 6, 2023

Funny to think there was a time, not so long ago, when all of this was not coming so easily. The Tigers acquired Lange at the 2019 trade deadline. A first-round pick out of LSU, Lange had mixed results as a starter in the minor leagues. Scouts questioned his delivery and his command. The Tigers saw potential in Lange if they were to convert him to the bullpen.

Fast forward two summers, and the transition to relief pitching was still a work in progress. Lange had wowed in spring training of 2021 with a devastating breaking ball. He earned a chance in the major leagues. But he also had a 6.88 ERA through his first 19 MLB outings. The Tigers demoted him for a second time that July, and manager A.J. Hinch gave Lange a rather blunt assessment of where he needed to improve. They wanted to see him finish innings in fewer than 20 pitches. They needed him to make fewer mistakes. They needed him to control his emotions on the mound.

“A.J. sat me down and said, ‘If you want to pitch here, this is what you have to do,’” Lange said last year.

Now in 2023, we are seeing the best version of Lange unlocked. His curveball last season was among the elite swing-and-miss pitches in baseball. He has continued that so far this season, using the pitch 57 percent of the time and generating a 47.3 percent whiff rate.

The curveball is fascinating because it does not have off-the-charts spin rates. It moves, both vertically and horizontally, less than the league average curveball. But because Lange throws it so hard — 86.5 mph on average — and because it tunnels with his fastball so well, it can be incredibly difficult for hitters to pick up.

“He doesn’t have crazy extension, he’s not crazy tall or anything like that,” Tigers catcher Eric Haase said. “It seems pretty simple. … But his heater and his curveball look the exact same for probably 50, 55 feet. One stays right there and the other goes on toward the dirt. You’ll see him throw three or four in a row where guys seem like they’re (laying off) it, and then they’ll find themselves swinging.”

Eric Haase and Alex Lange celebrate after beating the Guardians. (David Richard / USA Today)

Lange’s strike-throwing is not perfect — the Tigers would still like to see him ahead 0-1 more often — but he has become more adept at getting in good counts and executing pitches.

“He has to be himself,” Hinch said. “He doesn’t have to (throw) the elevated four-seamer because his sinker is super nasty. It doesn’t mean he has to throw behind-in-the-count fastballs because the command of the secondary is arguably better than the command of the fastball. Put all that in a two-and-a-half year mix, and we found that we know Alex, Alex knows what he needs to do, and he’s unafraid.”

Hinch does not have rigid roles in this iteration of his bullpen, so he has yet to anoint Lange or anyone else with the term “closer.” But Lange leads the Tigers with six saves and is undoubtedly their top option to lock down a game.

The filthy mix of Lange’s arsenal is not only difficult for batters. The nature of Lange’s stuff also makes it a challenge for his own catchers. One Statcast metric indicates Lange threw the lowest percentage of “easy” pitches in the league last season at 86.7 percent.

“In years past, I don’t want to say it stressed me out a little bit, but it was definitely different than some other breaking pitches I’ve seen,” Haase said. “When you call a curveball, you’re expecting a little bit more of 12-6, a little bit less velocity. With Langer it’s pretty much straight down, 85, 86 to 87 (mph) sometimes.”

Dating to Sept. 4 of last year, Lange has allowed only two earned runs in 28 innings.

Alex Lange, Domination.

Respeck the turtleneck. pic.twitter.com/jtxWQwiMox

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 6, 2023

“I think he’s got the perfect personality for a closer,” Haase said. “If he keeps throwing the ball like he is, he’s going to be able to do whatever the hell he wants out there.”

It has become a welcome sight for fans at Comerica Park when Lange emerges from the bullpen, clad in the turtleneck, takes a few slow steps on the warning track and runs to the mound.

Monday night in Cleveland, the Tigers had two outs in the ninth inning and a 6-2 lead. It was not technically a save situation, but the Guardians had a runner on base and their order was about to roll over to the top.

Hinch summoned Lange from the bullpen, and though Lange issued a walk to Myles Straw, he secured the final out without too much sweat. It was the Tigers’ sixth victory in seven games.

“This team deserved to win,” Hinch said, “and our best pitcher was in at the end.”

That’s where things are trending with Lange.

When he is at his best, the turtleneck is a way of signifying game over.

(Top photo of Alex Lange: Rick Ulreich / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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