W.G. Brady
When the Detroit Tigers signed SS Javier Baez to a 6-year, $140 million deal, some celebrated but I cringed because I am generally not a big fan of free-swinging hitters.
But even I did not think Baez would struggle the way he has in his first season with the Tigers.
Through his first 41 games in the Old English D, Baez was hitting just .194, and following an 0-for-3 performance on Saturday during a 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees, he is now hitting just .190 with three home runs and 13 RBIs.
After the game, Baez spoke to reporters and sounded defeated.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Javier Báez said today. “I’m not following the ball, not keeping my approach. They’re not throwing my pitch. As long as I don’t make them throw my pitch, they’ll throw the slider if I don’t make an adjustment. There’s no excuses.”
"I don't know what to tell you," Javier Báez said today. "I'm not following the ball, not keeping my approach. They're not throwing my pitch. As long as I don't make them throw my pitch, they’ll throw the slider if I don’t make an adjustment. There’s no excuses."
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) June 4, 2022
Javier Baez gives concerning reason for struggles at plate
Earlier this week, Baez made a similar comment about how he is not seeing the baseball.
From Detroit News:
http://gty.im/1399644414
“I don’t have any excuses,” he said of his offensive struggles this season. “I’m not seeing the ball. I’m not following the ball. And you can’t hit what you can’t see.”
“I’m just trying to make the adjustments and see the ball,” he said. “Like I said, though, I’m not going out during the game and working on it. I work on it before or after. It’s hard with these (pitchers) and their plan. But there’s no other option but to come back tomorrow and try again.”
“Right now, it’s just about trust,” Báez said. “The way I’ve been struggling, I think I’m trying a lot harder and that only makes it worse.”
One would think that Baez will eventually turn things around but asking that of a free-swinger is a big ask.
That being said, let’s hope Javier Baez does figure things out because that would be a huge boost for a Detroit Tigers offense that has been…offensive.
Anyone want to see Al Avila and Matt Millen do commercials for Little Caesars’ COLD-N-STALE pizza? How ’bout this: if the Tigers get beat down by the Yankees today, you’ll get free Little Caesars pizzas for life, right from Mike Ilitch’s grave. The Tigers & Red Wings are better off working for Little Caesars. Because Chris Ilitch cares more about delivering $6 pizzas than delivering winning teams on the ice and on the diamond.