MLB fans have torn into Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez after appearing to lose track of outs and running into a double play.
Baez was on second base after doubling earlier in the inning. The Puerto Rican watched the flight of the ball at home plate, was slow getting out of the box believing he'd hit a home run, only for it to hit the top of the wall.
A batter later, he forgot to go back to second on Akil Baddoo's lineout, forgetting the number of outs in the inning, leading to him being benched by Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.
Jonathan Schoop came out to play defense in Baez's place in the next inning following a discussion with manager Hinch in the tunnel at the Rogers Centre. Thankfully for the Tigers they won the tight contest with the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1.
"It's not really even all about Javy. I think if you watch the last couple series, we've made a number of mental mistakes," Hinch said after the game. "The one thing we can control is our preparedness and our readiness. Javy happened to be the runner that made the big mistake where I made the move, but it's a message to our whole team that we've got to clean that up."
Fans have also torn into Tigers star Baez, who is a repeat offender. It’s not the first time Baez has been pulled from a game for forgetting the number of outs in the inning. It happened in 2021 while he was playing for the Chicago Cubs, being pulled by manager David Ross after getting doubled off first base because he thought there were two outs.
“As a Cubs fan, this is nothing new,” A Chicago Cubs fan said on Twitter. “Probably the most overrated player in the game today,” another savagely added.
Baez is on good money at the Tigers. The MLB franchise gave Baez a six-year, $140million (£112m) contract last offseason.
The mistake sums up the Tigers’ start to the MLB season. They sit bottom of the American League Central with a 3-9 record. They take on the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.
