The Tigers’ Javier Báez embarrassingly swung at a bouncing pitch and MLB fans had so many jokes

Fun fact: You don’t have to swing at every pitch.

While he can be one of the most electric and fun players in baseball at his absolute peaks, no one can deny that Javier Báez has some incredible lows.

When the Tigers (+1.5) took on the Guardians on Tuesday night, Báez had another unfortunate moment to forget. This time at the plate. As Detroit tried to rally from a 5-0 deficit in the eighth inning, James Karinchak let loose a soft, bouncing pitch. It was a pitch that most hitters probably wouldn’t have swung at under the circumstances.

Unfortunately, Báez’s patience, or lack thereof, got the best of him, and he embarrassingly took a swing at a ball that literally hit the dirt in front of him to strike out:

Oh, man. That’s brutal. The beauty of choice as a hitter is that you don’t actually have to swing at every pitch. In fact, that’s often encouraged for good offense! In this specific moment, that reality appeared to be lost on Báez, as the Tigers lost 5-2.