Why was Javier Baez benched? Tigers shortstop removed after shocking error

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez was benched during Thursday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays after making a base running error. Báez was taken out of the game in the second inning after losing track of the number of outs and was doubled off at second base. This came after his first extra-base hit of the season, a double off Toronto's Chris Bassitt.

Javier Baez's second base running error occurred when he didn't realize that Akil Baddoo's hit was only the second out of the inning. He ran on contact and didn't tag up before advancing to third, running into a double play to end the inning. Following this error, Báez appeared visibly frustrated as he returned to the dugout.

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Manager A.J. Hinch benched Javier Baez

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch took Baez to the clubhouse for a brief chat after the inning. Upon returning, Baez emptied his pockets, untucked his jersey, grabbed his glove, and headed back to the clubhouse, signaling the end of his night. Nick Maton switched from third to shortstop to replace Báez, while Jonathan Schoop entered at third. The Tigers went on to win the game, 3-1.

Baez has performed poorly this season, with a career-low .122 batting average, no home runs, and eight strikeouts in 41 at-bats. His mistake on Thursday adds to what has been a rough start to the 2023 season for the two-time All-Star and former World Series champion.

Javier Baez has had a terrible start to the 2023 season.

Baez signed a $140 million contract over a period of six years with Detroit in December 2021 after hitting .238 with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs in 144 games last season. The Tigers will hope to see an improvement in his performance as the season progresses. They are up against the San Franciso Giants next.

About the author

Pablo Ricalde has been a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda since 2022. A Communication Studies graduate, he attended journalism courses and specialized in copywriting, further adding to his background as a writer.

After 4 years working in the advertising industry and 2 years in sports journalism, Pablo currently works at a Marketing Consulting firm on top of his role at Sportskeeda. He believed in sourcing information only from reliable sources, and refrains from including any opinionated content in his articles.

Pablo was introduced to baseball as a kid by his grandfather, who even coached him in Little League for a year. A massive Boston Red Sox supporter, he ended up becoming a fan in an attempt to be original (as his parents are Yankees fans). Pablo also supports the Diablos Rojos from the Mexican league, his hometown team.

His favorite players of all time are David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, while his current favorites include Fernando Tatis Jr., Ronald Acuna Jr., Alex Verdugo and Randy Arozarena. His favorite moment as a baseball fan was when the Boston Red Sox won the 2018 World Series Championship, as he was too young to remember 2004.

A huge sports fan in general, Pablo's non-baseball interests include football, basketball, American football, and motorsports (F1, IndyCar and Nascar), music and cinema.

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Edited by Diptanil