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:
James Karinchak just got Javier Báez swinging on a bounce pass pic.twitter.com/9y6Vno7ZYL
— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) August 10, 2022
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.
MLB fans roasted Báez for his embarrassing swing at the bouncing pitch
They should send him down for this 😂 https://t.co/6uvHUSrJQV
— IdrisChillba (@JcBeChillin) August 10, 2022
Never change, Javy. Never change. https://t.co/VFLMi6wVgI
— Andy Heckroth (@AHeckroth16) August 10, 2022
Me playing on Hall of Fame in @MLBTheShow https://t.co/gmn0WfJCUp
— TheTubsy (@thetubsy) August 10, 2022
Super overrated. https://t.co/NYX6KSDLWw
— Zach (@PureShanks) August 10, 2022
I don’t even know how that pitch is swung at https://t.co/ltt7zmtE78
— Alex Lewis (@A_Lewie3) August 10, 2022
Boy is it going bad for Javy. https://t.co/CDfzjzk64u
— georgeshainakat (@pashaina890) August 10, 2022
might be one of my least favorite pitcher/batter matchups i could imagine https://t.co/cZFrFnX6Po
— Cardboard White Sox (@SoxCardboard) August 10, 2022
"El mago" he's strikeout, again. 💀💀💀💀💀 https://t.co/z95Q4MNPmV
— Diego Zurita 𓃵🇫🇮. (@_diegozurita) August 10, 2022
https://t.co/Gxxk6n9tZn pic.twitter.com/GVT5EX9drn
— Dom Rotondo (@Droto19) August 10, 2022
