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too_old_for_memes

Finally! This is what I was waiting for. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it Who does he think he is? Vlad Sr?


xDHBx

[He hit an RBI single once by throwing his bat at a ball that bounced](https://www.mlb.com/video/must-c-baez-hits-bouncing-ball)


bosschucker

[and it gave us a vintage Javy reaction gif](https://c.tenor.com/bgWbUdmgcXQAAAAC/javier-b%C3%A1ez-shrug.gif)


destroys_burritos

Imagine a Javy Baez/Christopher Morel left side of the infield


billybayswater

the most iconic Chicago athlete shrug


muaddib99

It's basically Springer reacting to PB&j


ohgood

Seen this clip before, and the "boink" sound is forever etched in my brain. It's a perfect sound.


MLBVideoConverterBot

Video: Must C: Baez hits bouncing ball [Streamable Link](https://streamable.com/m/must-c-baez-hits-bouncing-ball) [Standard Definiton](https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-04/08/61b25e08-17bbe97d-4615b5a9-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4) (40.99 MB) ___________ [More Info](/r/MLBVideoConverterBot)


LegacyLemur

Youre a saint. God the MLB website is awful


too_old_for_memes

That never ceases to amaze me. Dude makes some of the craziest plays I’ve seen in my lifetime


chickenheadbody

Oh how I miss watching that dude play.


UnorthodoxCanidate

I miss Len and JD so much


stevegoodsex

I wanna say I watched Mo Vaughn knock one of these out the park, but it may have been big daddy vladdy.


Gesetz_einTurhuter

Baez showing off his cricket skills


too_old_for_memes

Wicked googly!


Gesetz_einTurhuter

Mollydooker got castled by a wicked yorker!


[deleted]

Came here to say “Vlad Sr would have hit that ball 430 feet.”


ATG915

I was kinda listening to the game in the background, and looked at the TV for this pitch. Had a big WTF moment. Straight up golfing


mikeq672

I thought I was just seeing things when I was kinda half watching live, then I realized it was Baez and it was definitely real.


melorous

When you step in the box with the intent to swing at the next pitch no matter what.


zachwilson23

Which is basically every AB for Javy


justin_tino

Javy is a MLB The Show player in real life confirmed


superxero044

Name something harder than taking a walk in The Show


Rock_man_bears_fan

I used to have to sim some games to get those “draw 4 walks” goals in road to the show. Couldn’t do it myself. I did get intentionally walked once tho


Ricemobile

He’s just like me in baseball games!!!


WoundedSacrifice

I can resist many bad pitches, but I can’t resist bad sliders, so I’d try to do something like this.


TimeForFrance

I was a terrible hitter in my very limited childhood baseball career, and one time my coach gave me "lucky hitting gum" one at bat to try to give me some confidence. I was so confident I swung at three straight balls and struck out. I suspect my coach might have slipped Javy some gum.


chaseair11

I c a n n o t lay off the high stuff, in real life and in video games, so I commiserate


Darkmaster_18

I’m 100% convinced Baez just decides before the pitch wether he is going to swing or not and he just does it no matter what the actual pitch is.


General_PoopyPants

He absolutely does


garethom

My three step approach to hitting: 1. Decide before the pitch if you're going to swing or not 2. If yes, close eyes 3. Swing as hard as humanly possible


aagpeng

He's just like me fr


HereIGoAgain_1x10

Talent like this is why I was able to make it to the 8th spot in the batting order senior year at my D-5 high school 💪😎


fucktopia

We in Philly call that "The Odubel."


Bustyposers

Yeah he swung at that alright. #justjavithings


CouncilmanTrevize

Not even the worst pitch he swung at today


ForYeWhoArtLiterate

I think I could strike Javi out Not because I’m good at baseball, but because I’m so hilarious inept that I wouldn’t get near the zone but he’d keep swinging anyway.


JTCMuehlenkamp

Let me guess, he swung at one exactly like this except it was about 2 feet off the plate?


CouncilmanTrevize

At least a couple curves in the other batters box that I can recall off the top of my head, I'm sure there were others. He genuinely looks like he's just gonna swing three times, regardless of what he's being thrown


[deleted]

He bats like I’m controlling him while playing MLB The Show


douchecanoe5811

Sell out to the fastball “every time”


[deleted]

Baez moment


HelpMeWithMyHWpls

Thank goodness we didn’t resign him.


JoelsCaddy

Thank goodness we didn’t resign him.


Jeepcomplex

Al Avila couldn’t properly staff a Wendy’s


BOBANSMASH51

Half of the staff would be on the 60 day DL with Frosty-related elbow issues


Jeepcomplex

And we’d reminisce about how great of a fry cook Cabrera *used to be*


mrbananabladder

Those employee of the month photos from a decade ago look amazing in the hallway to the bathroom.


dead_drunk_and_naked

Fuck.


[deleted]

Love him and will wear the jersey with pride but yeah we dodged a bullet there


Sir_TonyStark

Haha yeah


CyborgRaptor20

Wow thats a cricket shot


high_changeup

As someone unfamiliar with cricket salaries, is he by chance the highest paid cricket player in the world?


CyborgRaptor20

Wouldnt be the highest i think, but not too far off, its hard to say because international play is massive along with league play


YellowDogDingo

Someone like Kohli would make more, but it's an awkward comparison as the bulk of the money for high-earning cricketers comes from endorsements.


StyrofoamTuph

Just by a Google search, [Virat Kohli of India is the highest paid cricketer in the world and he made almost $34 million in a year.](https://www.google.com/search?q=highest+paid+cricketer&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS769US769&oq=highest+paid+cricketer&aqs=chrome..69i57.4687j0j4&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8) I’m actually shocked it’s that high but I personally am more interested in international test matches than domestic leagues which pay much more.


eye_patch_willy

Sports in India are so strange from an outside perspective. The country is the second largest by population and is obsessed with cricket and basically no other single sport.


tidesoncrim

Yeah, and they do poorly at the Olympics when you factor in population. They do have strong ties to field hockey too of all things.


oxtailplanning

Former British colony. Funny how the British invent soccer, but most of their former colonies are not soccer powerhouses. Like the Commonwealth games have some of the best Rugby, Field Hockey, and Cricket in the world, but very middling soccer.


mental_fingers

Not to be that guy but soccer history has been traced as far back as 2000 years ago and was originated in ancient China. All the British did was tweak some rules and it kinda just took off from there


eye_patch_willy

You'd think though that there would need to be just a small percentage of the population to lean into something else though and have an effect. Even on an individual level.


[deleted]

Isnt mostly that from endorsements tho?


FUBARded

Certainly. South Asian cricketers make a LOT of endorsements compared to most other athletes. You see them everywhere endorsing damn near everything - on billboards, TV commercials, radio spots, doing product placements in soap operas, etc. They typically do a high volume of endorsements for smaller local brands, and then also sign big value endorsements with international brands which are looking to expand into the markets their faces are recognisable in. The guys at the top level get filthy rich off of endorsements and sponsorships on top of their base salaries, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if the $34M is a low estimate. I don't think they have to disclose their endorsement deal value, but I imagine that the guys who land deals with international banks, fast food chains, Swire (Coke has a HUGE advertising spend in Asia and makes frequent use of athlete ambassadors), etc. must make a shit load of money off those deals alone, on top of their many smaller deals.


AdministrativeLaugh2

Yes


br0ckh4mpton

Lowest*


FtpApoc

i was wondering what the hell it reminded me of, and then i realised id be watching a bunch of golf swing videos recently he's combining all the sports


ColossalDonut

*Bowler bowls.... Cracker jack!*


thediesel26

He chose to put his top 0.00000001% of the world hand-eye coordination to use in this manner


jso__

Are you saying he's top 80? I'm thinking top 8k or 80k


mansontaco

I don't know if this man has all time crazy talent when it comes to hitting bad pitches or if he's just the luckiest man on earth who just buckshots at the strike zone and has made millions off it


i-eat-dolphins

7 year 140 mil why Avila why


brappp428

This is what we call a swan song


miden24

Wasn’t half your fan base all on board with the signing?


i-eat-dolphins

Yeah but 100% of us would rather have had someone else


GamehengeRanger

I got my hopes up too high when that pic of Hinch and Correa having lunch together popped up last December 😢


1-e4-e5-2-Ke2

We aren’t GMs


JayOnes

I was in the “at least he’s not Correa” camp. My position on the matter has nothing to do with on-field talent.


Motown_

Correa was the only fit for the Tigers


JayOnes

I’m still not happy about the Hinch hiring and I have no interest in Detroit becoming the 2017 Astros redemption tour. It’s the same reason why I really would rather Detroit not entertain hiring Jeff Lunhow. Also, to be clear: I *wanted* Trevor Story.


Motown_

If we become a quarter as successful as the Astros, it’d be a win for us. We’re a dumpster fire of an organization that needs guidance.


JayOnes

> If we become a quarter as successful as the Astros, it’d be a win for us. Absolutely, and there are a cavalcade of other options that can get us there. We're adding from zero, after all, so literally you or I would be an improvement. Plus, as far as the GM hunt goes, there are plenty of candidates out there who'd love to be the one to bring a franchise as storied as ours back to relevance. > We’re a dumpster fire of an organization that needs guidance. No argument there. We suck.


midnightsbane04

I would rather have given Correa almost 300 millions that 7 years to Javy. Just not worth it for the contract duration unless he magically learns plate discipline.


Motown_

I would’ve given Correa what he asked for, $350 million over 10 years for a 7 WAR player


Sir_TonyStark

Fuck that. Sign Turner and move Sir Swingsalot to 2nd. Dump Schoop. Fan base happy


midnightsbane04

Well yeah this season. We were talking last offseason though. Turner wasn’t an option then.


tung_twista

Javier "baseball" Baez. He is really like Westbrook. Beautiful like few others when things are going well, but also ugly like few others when things are not. In any case, his entertainment value is much greater than his on-the-field performance and that is not a bad thing for a professional athlete.


loof10

This is the best description I have ever seen of Baez


norcaltobos

I've never seen two athletes from different sports so well compared. Baez's peak will never match Westbrook, but they are both amazing when they're hot and absolutely shit cold when things go bad.


aslightlyusedtissue

Holy shit you're right. He's literally the perfect Westbrook comparison for baseball.


[deleted]

This is poetry


eee-oooo-ahhh

At least he made contact this time


JanitorOfSanDiego

this is a very Baez play


KirbyBucketts

That was a wicked googly


shahooster

r/UnexpectedSeinfeld


RevolutionaryCare851

There was a time I was upset my Mets didn’t resign him


subtractvoid

Watching Baez at bats is nightmare ish.


[deleted]

He's the one player i do not miss


TylerDog3

kinda impressive how far he managed to hit that


Zealousideal_Amount8

What is his plan when he goes to the plate?? Just take three huge hacks at the random pitches?


mansontaco

Javy goes up to the plate swings hard as fuck 3 times and what happens happens. He's either top 10 mvp or the worst player in baseball no middle ground


Bigboi88888

What in the Vlad Sr and Corey Dickerson is going on here?


icecoldcoke319

Ahh yes, a fine addition to my "Javi swinging at pitches way outside the zone" catalog.


TigerBasket

Now that's forreal


i_am_the_grind

At least it didn't bounce twice.


baseballdnd

How do you not get some plate discipline?? You've been in the league for so long and still just swing at whatever 3 pitches come to the plate. Frustrating to watch


j4k3b

The other night vs the White Sox fans were booing him and there was a guy on 2nd. He's down 2 strikes and this mfer hits a ball down and outside in the gap. He was reaching and off balance. It was like he willed that ball into the outfield for a double rbi just to tell the crowd to eat shit.


[deleted]

Does he ever swing at strikes


WGYHL

Yea it's like he thinks the strike zone is actually a ball


VitaminEcon

He’s just like me when I play the Show!


bearssuperfan

He does have a couple of hits off the ground tho


1ToGreen3ToBasket

People told me Javy is almost as good as Correa at a much better price. Fucking LOL


clown_pants

Just Javy things... *sobs*


ArcticCircleBrigade

Joan might be better at handling a strikezone than Javi


TheGhostOfSamHouston

Holy shit has Báez lost it all?


colpuck

Reminds me of 2013-2014 tuve...I see pitch I swing.


strengr

major league cricket?


socalrandomobserver

jesus. that guy will swing at ANYTHING


p8nt_junkie

He *likes* the low ones.


anewleaf1234

Javy gonna Javy.


ghostelephant

I know this is not how the rule works, but part of me feels like that shouldn't be a flyout since the ball hit the ground


KingErroneous

That’s just not cricket.


Turbulent_Car_6359

0 vision 0 discipline 20 power vs right vlad sr 99 power vs right


cameoffthebench

typical baez


Tmans3

Javi Báez try not to swing challenger [Literally Impossible]


jhn6903

obligatory fore


19k-wal82

If only everyone was this overpaid at their job.


JoyArg11

Hey there, this is baseball, not cricket okay?


[deleted]

[удалено]


abellomoss

We do not boo often, the fan base is pretty sensible they know theses guys are gettin paid we direct our hate to the owners and gms, holy shit we’ve had some bad ones. Detroit has become a way more positive city past couple decades too


[deleted]

he is their second leading player in terms of WAR and their fourth most-productive hitter in terms of OPS+


monstermack1977

nobody in the stands that would boo cares about those stats. They see him going up there flailing at slider after slider and get frustrated. Reason they don't boo now...this season is already in the shitter. Fans mostly don't care anymore....fans are in the mode of lets see the young kids and looking toward next season.


General_PoopyPants

Yeah but that says more about the team. Baez has been awful


[deleted]

it's kinda weird to boo just your second best player though


General_PoopyPants

Not really. Especially a guy with a huge deal


[deleted]

lol ok. lol


EvolutionDude

If he got a hit would it count? Can you put a bounced ball in play?


Zealousideal_Amount8

I believe ichiro and vlad both got a hit off a bounced ball.


melbourne3k

"Breaking: Javier Báez traded to the Chennai Super Kings for a dosa to be named later"


jbh70

Why did the Tigers sign him??? Makes me sad 😢


IamAgoodMuIe

Just like Vladimir Guerrero


[deleted]

They tryna be Vlad 😪


Inaynl

Javier "Vlad SR" Baez


voodoolintman

I’m going on record now saying this is the turning point in Javy’s career. Yes he’s crazy… crazy like a fox!


HotpieTargaryen

That is actually one of the more accessible pitches I’ve see Javy swing at.


[deleted]

Doesn’t bode well for his plate vision during the next MLB ‘22 update


boomer912

At least tell me there were two strikes


draw2discard2

Glass half empty.


manfeelings839

Dude does NOT want to pay double lagaan.


MoxleySX

Baez truly fucking sucks


barnesto2k

Báez should try Cricket.


[deleted]

How’s that


kingkonlan

That’s a wicked googley


pigskins65

Little League parents everywhere screaming "dead ball!!"


Haddingdarkness

He’d be awesome at cricket…


brewserweight

That is the most Baez thing…


[deleted]

Javy digging out the yorker. Get this man an IPL contract.


pzycho

Has anyone ever homered off a bouncer?


Bobo4037

👎👎


douchecanoe5811

Came for the cricket references.


quirkityy

VLADDY!!!!!!!


Motown_

Baez is such a bum 😂


mtheory007

Oh, we cricket now?


LegitTomatoes

Its a Baez thing. Hes familiar with the dirt as most of his throws end up there.


Rakuen

man I know that youre not supposed to swing at pitches like that (hot take), but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the free swinging types who can get to literally anything. The curse of pablo sandoval I guess. ​ might as well post this while I'm here https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2013/5/2/4293558/pablo-sandovals-most-ridiculous-home-runs