TORONTO — Mental mistakes on the bases defined the Detroit Tigers in the past two games. Likewise, mental mistakes in more than one area of the on-field performance have defined the Tigers throughout the 2023 season.
It’s partially why they have a 3-9 record.
The overarching problem — sloppy baseball — reached a breaking point in the second inning of Thursday’s 3-1 win, snapping a six-game losing streak, against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Benching shortstop Javier Báez, the second-highest paid player on the roster, for numerous mental mistakes within a matter of minutes was a defining moment for the team.
“It’s not even really all about Javy,” Hinch said. “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. 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. We can control it.”
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It all started with a third-pitch sweeper from Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt with one out in the second inning. Báez, who entered Thursday hitting .100 (4-for-40) without an extra-base hit, swung his bat and celebrated like he crushed a no-doubt home run.
He watched the ball fly and didn’t run out of the batter’s box.
Only the ball hit off the top of the wall in left field.
“I was just so focused on hitting the ball,” Báez said, “and I hit it good, and I took my time out of the box. I got to second, but I really took my time out of the box because I was so focused on hitting the ball good and my timing.”
On the next play, Akil Baddoo lined out to center field. He pointed his finger to the sky while running to first base, desperately trying to get Báez’s attention, to signal there was only one out in the inning, but Báez wasn’t paying attention.
Báez ran to third base, and even rounded the base for a moment, because he thought the Tigers already had two outs. He thought the inning was over. He tried to turn around after the catch in center field, but he was way too late. The Blue Jays easily completed the inning-ending double play.
Hinch stared down his star player from the dugout.
“I don’t want to embarrass anybody,” said Hinch, who has cultivated a strong relationship with Báez. “I don’t want to lessen our bench. I don’t want to take out one of our starters who’s a premium player. But I also don’t want to see a team make mental mistakes.”
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The former two-time All-Star, a 2016 World Series champion, tossed his hands in the air and shook his head in disgust, clearly embarrassed. He said batting sixth in the lineup for the first time this season, and for the third time with the Tigers, caused him to forget the number of outs.
“My mind is everywhere right now,” Báez said. “I’m just trying to focus on my hitting and my timing. The only reason I lost the count of the outs, it was because I was hitting sixth. I thought I was the third batter in that inning. That’s the only reason.”
Before the second inning, Hinch summoned Báez because he wanted to talk to him about the situation. They walked down the dugout steps and into the tunnel leading to the clubhouse. Moments later, Báez walked up the steps, picked up his glove, tossed his sunflower seeds and untucked his jersey.
Then, the player nicknamed “El Mago” — the player who signed a six-year, $140 million contract in December 2021, the player who is supposed to carry the Tigers’ offense, the player who is supposed to set the example — disappeared again.
Hinch benched him.
Báez was replaced by Jonathan Schoop.
“We got to show respect to the game,” Báez said. “He made the decision, and I respect it. He’s the manager, and we got to respect what he does. … We’re obviously on the same page about the decision.”
This has happened before.
Báez was benched by Chicago Cubs manager David Ross for the same reason in June 2021.
Only this time, the 30-year-old is struggling at the plate while playing for a losing team. He didn’t meet expectations in his first season with the Tigers, and so far in his second season, the quality of his performance hasn’t aligned with his $22 million paycheck. If Báez were playing better, he thinks he would have stayed in the game despite his blatant blunders on the bases.
“Anybody can make a mistake,” Báez said. “At this point, the way we’re playing, and the way I’m playing, it’s obviously going to be worse. If I’m hot and I have seven homers and I make that same mistake, I would have stayed in the game. But I got no excuses.”
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Remember what Hinch said?
It’s not only Báez.
Hinch didn’t put outfielder Matt Vierling or catcher Eric Haase in the starting lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Blue Jays, though Vierling came off the bench as a pinch hitter. Both players were thrown out on the bases in the sixth inning in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss.
It was a game the Tigers could have won with a cleaner brand of baseball. Haase was thrown out trying to advance to from second base to third base on a ground ball to the shortstop; Vierling was thrown out trying to steal second base because he didn’t slide.
Hinch addressed them privately.
But he addressed Báez in front of the world.
“I’m private with everything that we do until it becomes public and you have to do it during a game,” Hinch said. “We’re going to clean it up. We have a really good group of guys. They’re going to understand what we have to do to be better, and they do, and they’re all important.”
That’s the message.
Consider it sent.
“Everyone has brain farts,” said Spencer Torkelson, a 23-year-old first baseman in his second season. “He just happened to have a few in the matter of five minutes. We’re not mad at him. We care, but it happens. It shows you that it doesn’t matter what your name, you will get disciplined. I don’t know what guys think about that in the clubhouse, but I think that’s the right thing to do.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.