On Friday, Javier Baez made his debut with the Detroit Tigers and it is a day that he and everyone involved (including the fans) will never forget.
With the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Baez stepped to the plate and proceeded to knock in the winning run to give the Tigers a 5-4 Opening Day win over the Central Division favorite Chicago White Sox.
Following the game, Baez spoke to reporters and said that he is not about to shorten up his swing just because he had a couple of rough at-bats to start the game.
From The Athletic:
“That’s not gonna happen with me,” Báez said. “I’m gonna swing hard. Sometimes I’m gonna connect better than the first two at-bats. But I’m gonna swing hard. I’m just gonna do me out there.”
As far as the White Sox being the favorites to win the division, Baez believes they will have to go through the Tigers to get there.
“It’s not gonna be easy, and I don’t know if they’re gonna win it,” Báez said. “We’re gonna give everything we have to beat them. To me and my team now, it doesn’t matter who we play. They gotta play us.”
Nation, do you think the Tigers can make a run at the American League Central Division title, or was this just another example of Opening Day fool’s gold?
