After six straight losses, the Detroit Tigers finally got back to winning ways last night (Thursday) with a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
But that’s not quite what caught the eye. Tigers shortstop Javier Baez was called out of the game by manager AJ Hinch after a second-inning blunder.
At that point, Akil Baddoo hit a routine fly ball to center field while Baez was posted to second base. The latter forgot that there was only one out and began to run towards third base without returning to his base.
After realizing his mistake, he stopped and made no attempt to get back to second. He was visibly frustrated.
Hinch and Baez then went down the tunnel and the latter never returned in the encounter.
The author of the blunder understands the decision of his manager who wanted to send a message to his team.
We must show respect for the game. He made the decision, and I respect it. He’s the manager, and we have to respect what he does. We are obviously on the same wavelength about the decision.
There will be no follow-up to this situation, since Baez will be in the lineup tonight (Friday), when the Tigers will receive the visit of the San Francisco Giants.
