Most baseball fans will quickly agree that the marriage of Javy Baez and the Detroit Tigers is a match made in hell.
Baez signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers before the 2022 season. For a player who thrives on love and emotion, agreeing to join the equivalent of an MLB gulag was like signing the death warrant on his life. own career.
The two-time All-Star, former Gold Glove winner and key member of the Chicago Cubs team that broke the organization’s 108-year World Series drought has become a shadow of himself in Motor City.
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Entering Thursday’s game, Javy Báez was hitting just .100 with four hits in 40 at-bats. In 155 games with the Detroit Tigers, he’s hitting .229 with 17 home runs.
Things went from bad to worse in the series opener Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays. In his first at-bat, with one out in the top of the second inning, Báez sent a pitch from Chris Bassitt to the outfield. Apparently thinking he was a surefire homer, he stepped out of the batter’s box instead of turning on the jets.
What could have been a triple became a double.
The next batter, Akil Baddoo, hit a routine fly ball to center fielder Daulton Varsho. Baez, either misreading the trajectory of the ball or the number of outs on the backboard, bolted from second base.
Realizing his mistake too late, Javy Baez could only stand up and shrug dejectedly as Varsho threw the ball back to second base for an easy, inning-ending force out.
Tigers manager AJ Hinch did not take the mistake lightly, pulling Baez out of the game and installing Jonathan Schoop at shortstop for the third inning.
Javy Baez’s good times with the Cubs feel like a long, long time ago
Javy Baez was legendary with the Chicago Cubs. He debuted for the team in 2014 with a penchant for flair, and his defensive skills often stood out.
As a hitter, he had a knack for the game-winning home run and led the National League with 111 RBIs in 2018. He was the MVP of the 2016 NLCS when the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers. in six games to go. to their first World Series since 1945. Chicago then edged out the Cleveland Guardians to claim their first MLB title since 1908.
He was traded to the New York Mets at the deadline in 2021 and hit .299 in 47 games with the team before signing that offseason with Detroit.