Dillon Dingler Won’t Blame Fatigue for His Collapse
· Yahoo Sports
Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler was an American League All-Star this season, and at one point he was the best player on the Tigers roster. On Aug. 6 against the Seattle Mariners, he homered for the third straight game and ran his season total to 26.
Dingler was on his way to potentially being in the MVP conversation at that point. Ever since the Seattle series, he has struggled big time. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, who covers the Tigers, laid out how far the bat has fallen since that week.
Visit sportnewz.click for more information.
“The drop-off has been equal parts stark and confounding, as Dingler’s MVP case has faded along with the Tigers’ playoff hopes. In his past 37 games, Dingler is hitting .144. In a span of 150 plate appearances, he has struck out 38 times, walked on only seven occasions and hit one home run.”
Dillon Dingler Is Not Blaming Fatigue
Dingler spoke to Stavenhagen about the slide, and he does not want to make any excuses for the way he has finished the season. Dingler said, “I don’t want to blame it on fatigue. I don’t want to blame it on anything. It’s just something I wish I could have gotten out of sooner.”
The Full Season Still Reads Well for a Catcher
Even with the cold six weeks, Dingler owns solid numbers for a catcher across 143 games in the 2026 season. He is hitting .244 with 27 home runs and 89 RBIs, along with a .304 on-base percentage. His slugging percentage is .450 and his OPS is .754.
Thirty home runs is still technically in reach, though it would take three more in the final three games, at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Either way, Dingler put together a good year in front of the slump that ended it.
A.J. Hinch Saw the Wear and Tear
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has been concerned about the slide. He said before Wednesday’s game against the Washington Nationals:
“It’s part of growing at this level and learning how to get through the season, especially if you’re going to be the primary catcher and DH two-thirds of the games you’re not catching. That comes with a lot of wear and tear that he’s learning how to get through.”
Dingler is 28 and in his third season at the big-league level with Detroit. The last six weeks are the first real evidence of what a full catching workload costs him, and that is the problem he takes into 2027.