Back at his “usual” position last night, Javy Baez went right back to making tough plays look really easy, tracking down not one, but two would-be bloopers, and making lovely over-the-shoulder catches.
Why yes, @javy23baez was making highlight-reel defensive plays at 3B just yesterday. pic.twitter.com/FYF1TJGrqq
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 8, 2018
Balls hit like the first one fall in about 31% of the time according to Statcast, and balls hit like the second one fall in about 53% of the time. That means the chances that at least one of them would be a hit is about 68%. Javy Baez’s presence at second base is that other 32%.
Bonus: if Baez hadn’t been there to catch those, I have 100% confidence that Jason Heyward would have caught both of them, too. They were a little too in between for him to call off Baez in time, but he was there, and no outfielder in right field is as good as Heyward at coming in on those balls.