If only Tigers shortstop Javier Baez could play every game on the road.
Back in Chicago over the weekend, Baez reveled in playing the role of the villain against his old rivals from the South Side and looked more like the hitter he was on the North Side.
The fans at Guaranteed Rate Field gave it to Baez all series long, and Baez gave it right back. When they booed him, Baez asked for more. And when they obliged, Baez quieted them with his bat. He gestured for the crowd to pour it on as he stood on first base after a single Friday night, then hit a two-out, two-run double his next at-bat to bury the White Sox in the Tigers' 7-5 win.
By the series finale Sunday, the South Side fans had seen enough of Baez. Except Baez wasn't done. He hit a two-run bomb off Michael Kopech in his first at-bat of the game -- his second homer of the series -- and earned a Chicago salute from a young fan in the lower deck: the double bird.
You'll see him at the 15-second mark in the video below.
The White Sox and their fans got the last laugh Sunday, rallying for a 4-2 win to split the four-game set. But Baez should feel good about himself with the Tigers continuing a 12-game road trip ahead of the All-Star break, including a doubleheader Monday in Kansas City. Away from Comerica Park, the two-time All-Star Baez has looked like just that.
In 2022, Baez has a .795 OPS on the road, where he's on a 32-homer, 101-RBI pace over 162 games. He had an .800 OPS over his five full seasons with the Cubs, the club he came up with in 2014. But since joining Detroit, Baez has a .452 OPS at home, where he's on an eight-homer, 48-RBI pace.
“You think he likes getting booed? His ability to thrive in those moments is very unique,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters over the weekend. “Most people don’t love that environment because it can get a little intimidating. But Javy thrives in it, asks for it and delivers when it happens. He’s done it multiple times this year. He loves the big moment. He loves playing on the road when the fans boo him.”
Now, if Detroit's $140-million shortstop could just start hitting at home.
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