Báez's resurgence proving priceless to Tigers, himself

DETROIT -- While Tigers fans relished in another night of booing Alex Bregman, the free agent Detroit nearly signed, the last big-name free agent they signed to a long-term deal continued his hero turn.

Javier Báez can relate to Bregman, having received his occasional share of boos in Detroit over the past couple seasons. Unlike Bregman, the boos for Báez came from the home crowd; the shortstop signed a six-year contract after the 2021 season, and he struggled with expectations and injuries. But with each big play, each clutch hit this year, Tigers fans have come around to embrace El Mago, his turnaround and his position shift to center field.

And after Báez's second three-run homer Tuesday night, a walk-off drive in the 11th inning for a 10-9 win over the Red Sox, the chants echoed around the Comerica Park concourse: “Ja-vy! Ja-vy!”

Báez is an unlikely hero on a team built around prospects developed through the organization. But he’s a fitting hero for the Comeback City, not just for his revival, but his unselfishness.

“He’s all in,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We ask the guys to be all in, and here’s a guy who’s been through a lot in his time here. …

“He continues to battle, continues to fight and continues to try learning a new position, abbreviated playing time at the beginning of the season to now every day, wearing him out. And he's all in. He's an incredible human and he's doing his part. He should get all the praise for how he's gone about it.”

Báez has avoided getting sentimental. There’s too much season left, too much to play for, to take a victory lap. Still, as his walk-off drive soared, he dropped his bat and raised his arms.

“I tried to do the Manny,” he said, referring to Manny Ramirez’s celebration after a walk-off homer for the Red Sox in 2007, “but I wasn't sure if it was going out or not. But I hit it pretty good.”

Both homers came on the kind of breaking pitches that have been Báez's kryptonite for much of his Tigers tenure. The image of him flailing at sliders off the plate had become indelible to some fans. Báez has worked to become more disciplined at the plate, helped in part by a surgically repaired right hip that has helped him regain agility in the field and in his swing.

“Honestly, I'm grateful to feel like this,” he said. “Last year was a hard decision to get my surgery, and just to feel almost 100 percent and doing what I can do, swing at the sliders out there and make contact, I'm just happy. I feel good.”

The Tigers led four times in regulation Tuesday, only to see the Red Sox rally on a night Detroit reprised its pitching chaos strategy from last postseason. Báez provided one of the leads with a go-ahead homer in the sixth.

Garrett Whitlock entered Tuesday with a .125 average (3-for-24), no extra-base hits and a 41.5 percent whiff rate on his slider, according to Statcast. But with two on, two outs and a 4-3 Red Sox lead, his 1-0 slider stayed over the plate at the bottom of the strike zone. Báez sent it a Statcast-projected 392 feet to left field, a homer that would’ve been gone out in all 30 MLB parks.

He played hero again five innings later after Kristian Campbell’s home run in the top of the 11th gave Boston a 9-7 lead. With runners at the corners and nobody out following Jace Jung’s single, Báez got a sweeper from Greg Weissert in virtually the same spot as Whitlock’s slider.

“I was just looking for that pitch,” Báez said. “The pitcher before, he threw me two fastballs 98. I fouled them off, but I feel like I was on time pretty good, so I was looking for that pitch.”

Báez improved to 14-for-33 (.424) with three homers and 24 RBIs with runners in scoring position this season. He’s 7-for-12 with two homers with RISP and two outs.

“He’s hitting for average, he’s hitting for power,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “This guy at one point was one of the best players in baseball, and they lost him for a while there when he signed here. He struggled and then he got hurt and then he had surgery, and it looks like he’s back.”

But for Hinch, the attitude is just as clutch. While the Red Sox try to fill Triston Casas’ absence at first base, Báez has filled a chasm in center following injuries to Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Pérez.

“He is a shining example of what we're trying to do here, which is be available to do anything and everything you can for a team to win,” Hinch said. “And that's easy to stand in front of a group and say it. It's easy to get young guys to be hungry. But this dude's got a Gold Glove. This guy's been a world champion. He has been the center focus of a team before. He's like, 'Sure, I'll do it.' And that is priceless.”