Before Zach McKinstry’s on-field surge, there was off-field perspective

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DETROIT — Zach McKinstry was in college, during the thick of a summer playing in the Northwoods League, when the blaze burned.

“You play like 72 games in 75 days,” McKinstry said. “No off days. You don’t really know the cities you’re going to because you’ve never heard of them.

“Then you get a phone call.”

McKinstry’s Waterloo Bucks were playing way up in Canada when the phone started buzzing. His limited cell plan meant not all the messages were coming through. He didn’t fully know what was going on, and initially, he had no way to respond. The buzzes kept coming. By the time he connected to the internet, he had more than a hundred calls and texts from friends and family.

He finally learned the news. McKinstry’s childhood home in Fort Wayne, Ind., had burned to the ground. His parents were not home, and no one was hurt. But the family lost three dogs and two cats. Trophies, pictures and a lifetime of memories, all gone in an instant.

“My parents, their life was pretty uprooted,” McKinstry said. “You’re living in this house every day. Now it’s burned down.”

Somewhere in that blur of days came a lesson, even if it took years to see it clearly. When McKinstry was in middle school, his parents took in family friends who had a housing issue of their own. When McKinstry’s house burned down, his parents stayed with that same family while searching for a place to rent. People all across Fort Wayne, many of them friends from the local sports community, pitched in to help the family recover and start anew.

McKinstry looks back and sees the importance and power found in community. And in his story, this is all intertwined. McKinstry’s baseball life has been filled with adversity: twice traded, virtually cast aside, enduring slumps and having his love for the game put to the test.

It was two spring trainings ago when McKinstry showed up talking about his faith, his offseason baptism, his now-wife and all the ways his life off the field has changed.

These days McKinstry is thriving for a first-place Tigers team. Tuesday, the MLBPA’s Players Trust announced McKinstry as its first Most Valuable Philanthropist of 2025.

The honor is given out six times throughout the season to players who display “​​altruistic spirit and positive social impact.” It comes with a $10,000 grant toward McKinstry’s charitable work.

McKinstry just so happened to receive this recognition on the morning of his 30th birthday. It’s an important component in understanding McKinstry and what drives him. It’s another reminder of how far he has come.

Said Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter, “He’s one of those guys you just want to root for.”

McKinstry will be the first to admit it. A few years ago, he was like many young people. Focused on his career. Not worried about much outside his immediate purview.

“I was always kind of self-serving,” he said.

But the more he focused on baseball, the deeper his struggles became. His self-talk turned negative. He questioned whether he was good enough. He almost started to believe he wasn’t.

There was not one singular moment that turned his attitude or altered his mindset. It was instead a series of small steps.

When the Indiana kid and Central Michigan alum moved to Arizona for spring training with the Dodgers — McKinstry was a 33rd-round draft pick in 2016 — he got involved with a local Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. He also reconnected with Jeff Simpson, a former coach of McKinstry’s in Indiana. Jeff and his wife, Kate, had since moved to Arizona. As Jeff searched for his calling, he eventually found purpose in one of his passions: barbecue.

In 2015, Jeff and Kate founded BBQ Mission, a non-profit devoted to feeding people experiencing homelessness in the Phoenix area. The organization goes beyond handing out water bottles or sandwiches. It aims to create a backyard barbecue atmosphere. There are cards with scripture on the tables. Prayer requests are taken and the group aims to spread its Christian faith, too.

“We did this for nine years with no pay, and it’s the best job I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Jeff said.

Jeff and McKinstry started talking. They golfed together. And then McKinstry started coming out to help with BBQ Mission. One visit became two. Eventually, McKinstry became a fixture at BBQ Mission’s weekly get-togethers, stacking barbecue on plates and handing out meals.

“He just wants to roll up his sleeves and serve shoulder-to-shoulder with everybody else,” Kate said. “He’s willing to talk about baseball if one of our patrons wants to talk about baseball. But mostly he’s just there to give back.”

He began selling shirts with the message “Jesus Won” and donating the proceeds to the charity. Word spread on social media. Fans of McKinstry’s started getting involved with BBQ Mission. This offseason, Tigers teammates Colt Keith and Carpenter came out to help.

“He’s such a leader in that regard, so it’s pretty awesome,” Carpenter said.

Tuesday, the Players Trust recognized McKinstry’s work with that $10,000 grant. McKinstry plans to split the donation between BBQ Mission and NW Futures School of Development, an organization that helps youth players in the Pacific Northwest. McKinstry’s agency connected him with the program. He spoke previously at events supporting the school.

“Once I found my faith and my calling, it was more like, ‘All right, it’s not really serving yourself anymore,’” McKinstry said. “It’s serving other people and the people around you. Not really looking for it, but it kind of comes and finds you.”

McKinstry will tell you he wouldn’t be doing this work if not for his spiritual journey.

And if not for the perspective that has come as a result, he might not be the player he has become.

“That’s where it turned for me,” McKinstry said, “when faith became the center of my life.”

As McKinstry found purpose beyond baseball and beyond himself, his view on the game changed. His attitude shifted. It became easier to overcome mistakes. The bad days didn’t always seem so bad.

But let’s be real. That does not mean it was easy.

The story from last summer still resonates. It was just after the trade deadline when roster moves were flying. McKinstry was hitting below .200, playing time was sparse and the Tigers were bringing up young players from the minors. McKinstry’s roster spot seemed to be in jeopardy. That’s when manager A.J. Hinch called McKinstry into his office. Told him not to worry. The Tigers valued McKinstry for his defense and his versatility. His spot was secure.

McKinstry posted a .955 OPS in August. He cooled off starkly in September. But so far this season, he has shown that August rampage was no fluke. McKinstry has already played five positions for the Tigers this season. Once a role player confined to the bottom of the order, he’s started four games in the leadoff spot and hit third on five occasions.

“He’s earned that, and he’s a perfect guy for that spot right now,” Carpenter said. “It’s well documented that he’s had his ups and downs in his career. The bat coming around this year to the level that it’s at is pretty special to see.”

McKinstry has a .902 OPS through 26 games, ranking eighth in the American League. He’s come through with timely hits, dirtied his uniform on the bases and made an impact with his arm in the outfield. Last weekend, there was McKinstry, belting a double, slapping a single and hosing down a runner from left field as the Tigers swept the Baltimore Orioles.

“He came from junior college to Central Michigan, drafted low, had to work his way up,” Keith said. “It’s an amazing story, but he’s got the personality and the drive for it.”

In addition to his work with non-profits, McKinstry traveled back to Fort Wayne two years ago. He ran a camp for local children. He handed out bats to high school players. He met with athletes at his old stomping grounds.

And somewhere along the way, he realized he was giving back to the same community that once raised him, supported his family and helped him get to where he is today.

“Especially kids that are walking in the same footsteps that you walked in, the same hallways that you walked in, being able to put a little bit of a smile on their faces. … You don’t know what they’re going through at home or behind closed doors,” McKinstry said. “It’s always a good time to just give them some love and show them that success, you can go get it.”

(Photo: Lon Horwedel / Imagn Images)

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