Max Clark Reveals Tigers’ Hilarious Secret Outfield Communication System

The Detroit Tigers apparently have their own language in the outfield.

It sounds a little like an angry cat.

Max Clark revealed the unusual communication system after Javier Báez made a potentially game-saving catch in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 2-1 walk-off victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the game tied and two outs, Teoscar Hernández drove a ball 396 feet toward the deepest part of left-center field. Clark was flying toward it from center. Báez was doing the same from left.

Then Clark heard it.

Hiss. Hiss. Hiss.

And he immediately knew what to do.

Clark explained that Tigers outfielders have adopted the sound because normal baseball calls can get swallowed up — or even mimicked — by a loud crowd.

“We all do the tss tss tss to get each other’s communication and to hear each other from the infield to the outfield when you get close to somebody, because it’s the only thing that you can hear and identify without a fan saying ‘I got it’ or ‘ball ball ball.’ And then I just heard him tss tss tss tss, he’s like ‘I got it,’ and that’s why he’s got a gold patch. He’s an elite defender.”

So, yes.

The Tigers hiss at each other.

And on Saturday, it may have saved the game.

Clark had been sprinting toward the baseball at nearly 30 feet per second before hearing Báez approaching from the other direction. Instead of two outfielders converging at full speed near the warning track, Clark backed away and allowed Báez to finish the play.

Probably preferable to a full-speed collision.

Báez covered a huge amount of ground to make the catch near the wall, keeping the game tied heading to the bottom of the ninth.

A few minutes later, Báez doubled and eventually scored the winning run on Kevin McGonigle’s walk-off hit.

Not a bad inning.

The communication between the two is another example of how quickly Clark has developed trust in Báez.

That relationship did not begin Saturday.

Clark praised Báez’s leadership and clubhouse influence before he was even established in Detroit’s everyday lineup, and the veteran’s versatility has become increasingly important as injuries forced the Tigers to get creative defensively.

Detroit recently began using Báez in left field alongside Clark in center, giving the Tigers two athletic defenders capable of covering a lot of ground.

Saturday showed why communication matters just as much as speed.

Clark explained what happened after hearing Báez closing in.

“I knew if I got there, it was going to be head-down, run to the spot, pick it up and catch it. And then I just heard him [hissing], and he’s like, ‘I got it.’”

That was enough.

Clark moved aside.

Báez made the catch.

Detroit won the game minutes later.

Baseball has signs, pitch calls, defensive positioning cards and enough terminology to fill a dictionary.

The Tigers apparently needed just one more.

Tss. Tss. Tss.

Everybody else, get out of Javy’s way.