The Freebie. The Ghost Runner. The Zombie. The Manfred Man.
Whatever you call the runner placed on second base for every team at the start of every extra inning since the start of the 2020 season the Detroit Tigers seem to be getting a boost from it.
Despite having scored just 50 runs this season, only ahead of the Miami Marlins’ 49 runs, the Tigers have scored six times — 12% of their total — after the ninth inning, while going 3-1 in extra-inning games. Those three wins are 60% of their total on the season, with three of those four extra-inning games coming last week.