Just when you think you’ve heard it all when it comes to the prodigious power of Chicago Cubs top prospect Javier Baez …
We all heard about the cars that Baez’s batting practice homers dinged up at the outset of Spring Training, but it turns out that those weren’t the first cars that Baez’s mammoth strength and bat speed threatened to destroy.
According to AA Tennessee hitting coach Desi Wilson, Baez’s first round of batting practice this Spring Training actually took place on a different field (Cubs.com). There, Baez proceeded to deposit three or four balls over the wall onto the highway, so the Cubs moved him to a “safer” field. You know, the one where he ended up smashing windows.
The lesson? There is no safer field. If a Javier Baez homer wants to find you, it will.
(That Cubs.com piece is actually a good read on Baez, generally. But I can’t help but focus on the crazy power.)