Last night, Javy Baez went full El Mago, with a tremendous night at the plate and a killer play in the field, and he got a lot of love from all quarters that I thought would be fun to share if you hadn’t seen.
Everyone loves Javy, plus other fun bits:
Joe Maddon on Javier Baez: “Listen, I’ve been saying it for a couple years, the moment he stops swinging at sliders in the dirt, he becomes Manny Ramirez. He’s getting closer. Except that I think he’s a better defender than Manny was. And baserunner. Manny, I still love you.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) June 27, 2018
Maddon’s dropped that comparison before, and while it still strikes me as odd, given the skillsets at play, I do think it’s enjoyable to ponder, especially given that Ramirez spent time working with Baez a few years ago.
Jon Lester offered up just about the highest praise a veteran starter could possibly offer:
#Cubs Lester on Javy: "He's probably my favorite player to watch. I've got to play with and in front of some really good infielders in my career and I think Javy has surpassed all those guys."
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) June 27, 2018
Jon Lester: "Javy Being Javy. He’s probably my favorite player to watch. I’ve got to play with some really good infielders in my career and I think Javy has kind of surpassed all those guys – Adrian Beltre and Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia."
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) June 27, 2018
More enjoyable to watch than Adrian Beltre?!?! That’s some praise right there.
Joe Maddon is spot on with this:
Maddon on Baez: "He’s a perfect example of what Major League Baseball needs to highlight."
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) June 27, 2018
The haters can all eat it. Baez is not just talented, he is wild and energetic, prone to do something you’ve never seen before on a near nightly basis. He is fun. So fun. All baseball fans are better for having had a chance to see him do his thing.
Some numerical fun:
Javy Baez full-season pace update:
34 HR, 118 RBI, 95 R, 27 SBs, 34 2Bs, 13 3Bs
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) June 27, 2018
Báez's 56 RBIs 5th highest in majors, 3rd in NL (behind Trevor Story and Eugenio Suarez). Báez only 2nd middle infielder in franchise history to reach 56 RBI prior to the Break (since 1933), joining Ryne Sandberg (57 RBI in 1990)
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) June 27, 2018
Javier Báez has now homered from all 9 spots in the order as a starter in his MLB career. #Cubs
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 27, 2018
And last but not least, poor Ross Stripling:
ICYMI: LA's Stripling on facing #Cubs Baez: "I kind of threw the kitchen sink at him and he hit it all, so I’m not sure [how to get him out]. We’ll have to hopefully play him in October and get him out then"
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) June 27, 2018