Maybin changes approach to fit Tigers’ game plan

DETROIT — The conversation began with the spacious outfield at Comerica Park. It came after Cameron Maybin went crashing into the center-field wall to chase the Rays’ Steve Pearce’s drive last Sunday. It morphed into a talk on his history in big ballparks.

“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Maybin said, “because I just try to hit singles.”

The 29-year-old Maybin doesn’t only hit singles, of course, but it reflects his mentality on making contact. It’s not what Tigers officials expected when they drafted him a decade ago. It’s what they need him to be now.

The scouting report on Maybin was speed and power when the Tigers made him their top pick in the 2005 MLB Draft. Maybin came with a legend, a 490-foot home run in high school. He drew comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr., Preston Wilson and Mike Cameron.

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Maybin’s 14 home runs in 2007, his second Minor League season, was his high mark as a pro. Detroit called him up that August, and he homered off Roger Clemens in his second big league game.

“He was 20 years old,” said Tigers bench coach Gene Lamont, who was on manager Jim Leyland’s staff that year. “We brought him up as kind of a shot in the dark, because we just …

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