Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez headed to the showers early after two consecutive base-running errors in Thursday night’s matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Báez was pulled following the second inning after he was doubled off at second base after losing track of the number of outs. He legged out a double off Toronto’s Chris Bassitt – his first extra-base hit of the season – in the top of the second inning after getting a delayed start out of the batter’s box watching what he thought was a home run.
Akil Baddoo lined out to center field in the Tigers’ next at-bat, but it appeared Báez didn’t realize that was only the second out of the inning. He ran on contact and didn’t tag up before advancing to third, running into a double play to end the inning.
Báez was visibly frustrated as he headed back to the dugout.
Báez said the reason he lost track of the outs was he was hitting sixth, lower in the lineup that usual, and believed he was Detroit’s third batter of the inning.
“My mind is everywhere right now,” Báez said. “I’m just trying to focus on my hitting and my timing and other stuff.”
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and Báez took a quick trip to the clubhouse after the inning. When Báez emerged, he emptied sunflower seeds out his pockets, untucked his jersey, grabbed his glove and headed back for the clubhouse, signaling the end of his night.
“Obviously we’ve got to show respect to the game,” Báez said. “He took a decision and I respect that. He’s the manager and we’ve got to respect what he does.”
Hinch said it was “very rare” for Báez to make such a blunder.
“He’s one of the better baseball minds on our team,” Hinch said. “It’s a big move because we take a potent bat out of our lineup.”
Nick Maton switched from third to shortstop to replace Baez, while Jonathan Schoop entered at third. The Tigers won the game, 3-1.
Báez currently has a career-low .122 batting average, with eight strikeouts, five hits and no home runs in 41 at-bats.
“If you watch the last couple of series, we’ve made a number of mental mistakes, and the one thing we can control is our preparedness and our readiness,” Hinch said. “It’s a message to our whole team that we’ve got to clean that up.”
Contributing: Associated Press