Javy Baez has had his share of troubles since signing a six-year, $140 million contract with the Detroit Tigers (including with one of the worst chase rates in baseball). But if he decides that baseball isn’t his thing, he can always look into cricket.
He showed some potential on Monday.
During Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians, Emmanuel Clase got Baez to fly out to center field on a 92 mph slider that Clase never would have expected Baez to even get a piece of. That’s because the pitch bounced shy of the plate. It just didn’t stop Baez from both making contact and putting some decent distance on the bouncing ball.
Emmanuel Clase getting Báez to flyout to CF.
On a Slider that bounces. đź’€ pic.twitter.com/ZJ8d1PDcRE
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 15, 2022
Clase’s reaction was especially great. He was laughing about how Baez managed to hit that slider off the bounce.
Clase's reaction. pic.twitter.com/hm2Q09o8US
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 15, 2022
MLB fans were impressed with the hand-eye coordination — even if Baez’s plate discipline continues to leave a lot to be desired.