ANAHEIM -- The enthusiasm with which Javier Báez has embraced his transition from former Gold Glove shortstop to the Tigers’ primary center fielder has been arguably the best part of his redemption season. As he tracked Jorge Soler’s drive to the fence in right-center at Angel Stadium, the kid in him took over.
“Javy is an awesome athlete, and he always wanted to rob a homer,” Tigers second baseman and good friend Gleyber Torres said. “So when I saw Javy jumping, I feel really good he's going to catch the ball.”
It was the kind of play that helps win Gold Glove awards. On Thursday, it was a catch that helped keep the Tigers close for a 10-4 comeback win. And it came from a player who put center field behind him -- literally -- as a kid until picking it back up as a 12-year Major League veteran a month and a half ago.
“Just a freak athlete doing his thing,” said Tigers pitcher Casey Mize, who delivered two clean innings after the out and earned the win. “Timed it up perfectly like he's been out there 10 years doing it, and it just looks effortless. He's just a great player, and it's a great play.”
Even with all of Báez’s struggles, the hip surgery that required his season to end last year and gave rookie Trey Sweeney a chance to take over at short, Báez’s athleticism never left.
“Wherever you put Javy, he's going to make plays like that,” catcher Dillon Dingler said. “He's incredible.”
They might have had more confidence in Báez making the play than Báez did. He thought it was going to hit the scoreboard over his head.
“I thought it was going to hit that little screen that's there,” he said. “But I got to the wall pretty good and I had the chance to time it.”
The robbery was pure athleticism by a former youth outfielder who’s still learning the intricacies of the position but is already well above average, registering in positive territory for Outs Above Average per Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved per FanGraphs.
Soler, who powered the Angels in front in the third inning with a two-run drive to left off Mize, nearly went deep to the opposite field two innings later. Báez had a read on it off the bat and easily covered the distance to camp under it, but had to reach over the yellow line to corral.
“I saw him kinda drifting out there and I was just hoping to God that it stayed in the park,” Dingler said. “And then I saw him scale the wall and I was like, 'Oh my God.'”
The resulting leap resembled the airborne grabs he made countless times as a shortstop.
“It's a little different,” he said. “I think in the outfield you have to run more, more distance than just reaction in the infield. I was a little positioned that way so I didn't have to go that far, but I had a good read on it.”
It’s a lot more running and a lot more timing. But it’s another trick in the El Mago show.
“Great athleticism, great timing, feel for the wall,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “All things that you can play outfield for a really long time and never quite get. He has it naturally, and it’s pretty awesome to see.”
Not bad for a converted infielder who only transitioned to center in Spring Training after the Tigers lost Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Pérez to injuries. Even then, Báez was only supposed to be an option for an in-game move to cover a few innings there if Hinch wanted to pinch-hit for Ryan Kreidler or make a similar move.
Instead, Báez has become Detroit’s primary center fielder, spelled occasionally by Riley Greene. Even with Vierling nearing a Minor League rehab assignment, Báez has played well enough to remain in the mix.
The more he hits, of course, the more he plays. And before Báez robbed a home run, he hit one, his second in as many days.
Which one feels better?
“Honestly, they both are great,” he said. “Hitting it feels better. To hit one, I think, is harder, but it feels great, better focus. That's what I felt at the moment, just to be focused on where the wall was and to know when to jump.”
He already has other infielders dreaming.
“I've never played the outfield,” Torres said, “but if I play it at some point in my career, I want to rob a homer. And he already did it.”