<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-aj-hinch-javier-baez-2025-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tigers’ A.J. Hinch reveals the key to Javier Baez’s resurgent 2025 campaign');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Javier-Baez-celebrates-after-hitting-a-home-run.jpg"><figcaption>Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Tigers’ A.J. Hinch reveals the key to Javier Baez’s resurgent 2025 campaign</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T08:03:30-07:00">June 27th, 8:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T08:07:32-07:00">June 27th, 8:07am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Tigers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Javier Baez has looked like a player on the verge of exiting MLB over the past few years. The 2024 season was especially bad for Baez, who hit just .184 with a .516 OPS. The Detroit Tigers star, at 32 years old, has had a resurgent 2025 campaign, though. He’s currently hitting .289 with a .793 OPS. Tigers manager AJ Hinch <a href="https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1938399891463557490" rel="noopener">recently revealed</a> what led to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/tigers-news-javier-baez-gets-aj-hinch-endorsement-amid-resurgence">Baez’s bounce back season</a>, via Jon Heyman of The New York Post.</p><p>One big element of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/tigers-news-aj-hinch-drops-truth-bomb-javier-baezs-center-field-move">Baez’s campaign has been his move to center field</a>.</p><p>“We talked about Javy all offseason on what his role was going to be,” Hinch explained on The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman. “Now when Javy got hurt last year, was right at the beginning of this resurgence of young talent coming up to the big leagues. We had a number of guys come up from Triple-A… We had this influx of youthful energy… Our team had changed. And so during the offseason, now you’re putting these pieces together, like, what is Javy gonna do to help us?”</p><p>The Tigers were patient, but ultimately moved forward with the Baez-center field idea as injuries continued to emerge. Baez’s ability to still play the infield gave Detroit additional options as well.</p><p>“And we waited until he got very healthy into spring and back into games and he and I met and he asked, ‘what can I do to help this team be better?’ We just came to that agreement, like, you can move around, like, second base, third base, shortstop, little bit of center. We didn’t know exactly where the piece was going to fit, but we knew he could contribute in a lot of different ways. And when I said center field, his eyes lit up… He was like, ‘I’ve been trying to tell people I can play center field.’</p><p>“Now, it’s different when you’re shagging in BP or it’s theory you’re going to play center field. But he did that for a better part of a month while we were trying to get healthy… So now he’s back at shortstop and playing virtually everyday at that position. I started him at second the other day, he moved in game to third base two or three games ago. The jack of all trades part of Javy’s game is awesome.”</p><p>Perhaps Baez’s defensive success has helped him find his confidence at the plate again. Baseball is a game of confidence, and Baez seems to be locked in so far in 2025.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tigers’ A.J. Hinch reveals the key to Javier Baez’s resurgent 2025 campaign

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-a-j-hinch-makes-javier-baez-hug-it-out-quip-about-ump-after-ejection');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tigers’ A.J. Hinch makes Javier Baez ‘hug it out’ quip about ump after ejection');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Detroit-Tigers-outfielder-Javier-Baez.jpg"><figcaption>Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Tigers’ A.J. Hinch makes Javier Baez ‘hug it out’ quip about ump after ejection</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-27T13:46:38-07:00">May 27th, 1:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-27T13:46:38-07:00">May 27th, 1:46pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Tigers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Tigers defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-1 in their series opener on Monday. However, the game made headlines when <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-javier-baez-goes-off-ump-nsfw-rant-after-ejection">Tigers outfielder Javier Baez blew up at Phil Cuzzi, the plate umpire</a>. Baez disagreed with the calls he got during his at-bat in the fifth inning. Detroit’s manager, A.J. Hinch, and Gleyber Torres worked together to keep Baez away from Cuzzi.</p><p>In Tuesday’s game, Cuzzi will be the third bas umpire. Ironically, that is where Baez will be playing for the Tigers. Hinch answered questions about the move, telling MLive Tigers reporter Evan Woodberry that <a href="https://x.com/evanwoodbery/status/1927459515743469850" rel="noopener">he is not worried</a>.</p><p>“They’re both veteran people in this game,” Hinch said. “They’ll hug it out today and be perfectly fine.”</p><p>Baez’s ejection was the main event, even though Detroit won. The veteran broke down the conversation he had with Cuzzi from his perspective.</p><p>“I only said, ‘I’m looking for that pitch. It’s not a f*****g strike.’ That’s the only thing I said,” Baez said about his ejection. “And then he said, ‘Don’t point at it. Walk out,’ or something. And I said, ‘What do you mean, walk out? I’m asking you something.’ And he just threw me out.”</p><p>Baez has a history of talking with umpires throughout his career. However, his ejections have become a more rare occurrence. Monday was his first ejection of the season.</p><p>Thankfully, he did not receive a one-game suspension for the incident. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-aj-hinch-drops-truth-bomb-javier-baezs-center-field-move">Baez has become a valuable member of Hinch’s roster</a>, both in the field and as a batter. The Tigers’ clash with the Giants is important as both teams fight to stay near the top of their divisions.</p><p>After a surprising season last year, Detroit is off to a great start. Tarik Skubal is in the running for the American League Cy Young Award again. Hinch is in the early conversation for manager of the year as well. However, Baez is important to the team’s attack. He has a chance to remedy his relationship with Cuzzi, whether Hinch did it on purpose or not.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tigers’ A.J. Hinch makes Javier Baez ‘hug it out’ quip about ump after ejection

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-javier-baez-goes-off-ump-nsfw-rant-after-ejection');   ga('set', 'title', 'Javier Baez goes off on ump with NSFW rant after ejection');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Javier-Baez_efc5cb.jpg"><figcaption>© Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Javier Baez goes off on ump with NSFW rant after ejection</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-26T15:46:36-07:00">May 26th, 3:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-26T15:46:36-07:00">May 26th, 3:46pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Tigers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants started a three-game series on Monday, and the Tigers picked up a 3-1 to get it started on a high note. However, it wasn’t all <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-javier-baez-gets-aj-hinch-endorsement-amid-resurgence">good for centerfielder Javier Baez</a>. Baez ended up getting ejected in the fifth inning after getting rung up on a pitch that was clearly out of the zone. Baez started arguing the call, and he was eventually tossed. He was clearly extremely upset afterwards:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Javier Baez let the ump have it after this strike three call and he was promptly ejected 😲 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RepDetroit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RepDetroit</a> </p><p> <a href="https://t.co/JACmMYBNpT">pic.twitter.com/JACmMYBNpT</a></p><p>— BET99 Sportsbook (@BET99Sportsbook) <a href="https://twitter.com/BET99Sportsbook/status/1927071225659928948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Tigers manager AJ Hinch came out to talk things over with umpire Phil Cuzzi, and Baez was eventually calmed down as he returned to the dugout and left the game. After the contest was over, Baez explained what <a href="https://x.com/EvanPetzold/status/1927096820305367491" rel="noopener">went down</a>.</p><p>“I only said, ‘I’m looking for that pitch. It’s not a f**king strike.’ That’s the only thing I said,” Baez said, according to a post from Evan Petzold. “And then he said, ‘Don’t point at it. Walk out.’ And then I said, ‘What do you mean, walk out? I’m asking you something,’ and then he just threw me out.”</p><p>Baez was clearly incredibly frustrated with what happened, but he went on to explain that he wasn’t even upset about the missed call, he was just mad about how the umpire was talking to him.</p><p>“It’s not even about the call. It’s about how he treated me,” he added. “I’m not an animal. We can talk. We can argue. And that’s it. If he would’ve told me, ‘OK, I missed it,’ I would’ve f**king shut up. I know he’s not perfect, but don’t treat me like that.”</p><p>There are a lot of calls in baseball that are tough on an umpire and they can really go either way. This wasn’t one of those calls. The ball was clearly a few inches out of the strike zone, but balls and strikes can’t be reviewed. Phil Cuzzi wasn’t looking to admit that he was at fault, and he made Baez even more upset in the process.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-jack-flaherty-sends-javier-baez-warning-rest-mlb">The good news for Javier Baez</a> and the Tigers is that they did win the baseball game, and that’s the most important thing. Baez left the game after going 0-2 at the plate, including the strikeout that should not have been. He was replaced by Matt Vierling, who recently returned to the team after dealing with an injury.</p><p>Detroit and San Francisco will be back at it on Tuesday at 6:40 ET from Comerica Park, and then they will finish off the three-games series on Wednesday at 1:10.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Javier Baez goes off on ump with NSFW rant after ejection

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-aj-hinch-drops-truth-bomb-javier-baezs-center-field-move');   ga('set', 'title', 'AJ Hinch drops truth bomb on Javier Baez’s center field move');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AJ-Hinch-drops-truth-bomb-on-Javier-Baezs-center-field-move.jpg"><figcaption>Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>AJ Hinch drops truth bomb on Javier Baez’s center field move</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-20T11:47:08-07:00">May 20th, 11:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-20T14:19:48-07:00">May 20th, 2:19pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Tigers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Tigers have dealt with a rash of injuries to their outfield, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-javier-baez-gets-aj-hinch-endorsement-amid-resurgence">Javier Baez has been one of the team’s</a> answers. The versatile fielder has played 24 games in center field this season — the only 24 games of his career at the position — and he’s earned the <a href="https://x.com/MLBNetworkRadio/status/1924877914551496952" rel="noopener">admiration of his manager</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Javy Báez continues to thrive in center field for the MLB-leading <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tigers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tigers</a><a href="https://twitter.com/tigers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Tigers</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RepDetroit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RepDetroit</a><br>🔗 <a href="https://t.co/6YbqEWFvEp">https://t.co/6YbqEWFvEp</a> <a href="https://t.co/PmXlzQeHgg">pic.twitter.com/PmXlzQeHgg</a></p><p>— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetworkRadio/status/1924877914551496952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“He’s someone who you look forward to seeing every day,” Tigers skipper AJ Hinch said Tuesday in an appearance on MLB Network Radio. “He has an unselfishness to him, even with the whole persona, the El Mago, and the vibe around him. He’s just one of the more beloved teammates that we have.”</p><p>The Tigers enter play on Tuesday 31-17, good for first place in the AL Central. For his part, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-jack-flaherty-sends-javier-baez-warning-rest-mlb">Baez has gotten it done</a> with the glove and the bat, hitting .291 with an .811 OPS in 38 games.</p><p>“When he decided to embrace the challenge of ‘ok I’m gonna go to centerfield, I might move around a little bit, I don’t now when I’m gonna play,’ that really did sorta spark our team that we’re all in,” Hinch continued. “Everybody’s all in. It doesn’t matter how much you make, it doesn’t matter what position you play. How can you contribute to a win?”</p><h2><b>The Tigers’ outfield corps is on its way back</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Matt-Vierling.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Hinch lauded Baez’ commitment to learning how to play center field, noting his “attention to detail.” But he also joked that he’s dreading reminding his veteran that the cavalry is coming.</p><p>“Now I’m gonna have to break the news to him pretty soon that [Matt] Vierling’s coming back, Parker Meadows is coming back, Wenceel [Perez] is coming back,” Hinch said. “[Baez will] get a little more infield time. I feel like it’s gonna be taking a little bit of a toy away from a player.”</p><p>Vierling seems like he will be the first one back. The 28-year-old has missed the entire season so far with a rotator cuff muscle strain but has been playing in rehab games at Triple-A Toledo. Perez and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-detroit-injury-update-two-key-weapons">Meadows aren’t far behind</a>. The Tigers <a href="https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-injuries-and-roster-moves" rel="noopener">expect both back</a> by early-to-mid June.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

AJ Hinch drops truth bomb on Javier Baez’s center field move

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-jack-flaherty-sends-javier-baez-warning-rest-mlb');   ga('set', 'title', 'Tigers’ Jack Flaherty sends Javier Baez warning to rest of MLB');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Tigers-Javier-Baez-hits-a-home-run.jpg"><figcaption>© Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Tigers’ Jack Flaherty sends Javier Baez warning to rest of MLB</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-18T11:25:51-07:00">May 18th, 11:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-18T11:26:08-07:00">May 18th, 11:26am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Tigers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Detroit Tigers slugger Javier Baez is getting the stamp of approval from one of his teammates. Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty says that Baez <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2025/05/18/bret-boone-rangers-coach-aaron-boone-yankees/83703767007/" rel="noopener">deserves consideration</a> for this year’s Comeback Player of the Year honor.</p><p>“It just goes to show, you can’t write guys off,” Tigers pitcher Flaherty said, per USA Today. “You can’t give up on guys, especially a guy like that who is as talented as anybody who has ever played that game and someone, who as I’ve gotten to know him, is going to work hard. The adjustments he’s been able to make, even just embracing the move to center field, I’m so happy for him. It’s awesome to see.”</p><p>Baez is hitting .307 this season with a .855 OPS, per the outlet. That is in stark contrast to last year, when the outfielder managed just a .184 batting average in 80 game appearances.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/tigers-news-hit-2025-mlb-milestone-30th-win">The Tigers are 30-16 on the season</a>, heading into a game Sunday with the Toronto Blue Jays.</p><h2><b>Javier Baez is pushing the Tigers forward</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Javy-Baez.jpg"><figcaption>© Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Baez is carrying a heavy contract with the Tigers, so the club most likely is very happy to see him do well. This season, the outfielder has six home runs and 28 runs batted in.</p><p>The outfielder homered on Friday for the Tigers, in a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. That blast was his sixth of the campaign. It also matches his home run total from last season. Considering that it is only May, it is fair to say that Baez is back on the right track.</p><p>One of the reasons why the Tigers outfielder may be doing so well is that he is playing a new position. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/tigers-javier-baezs-bounce-back-season-draws-reactions-from-ex-players">Baez moved from infield to outfield</a>, at the request of Tigers management. He seems <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-players-who-moved-from-infield-to-outfield" rel="noopener">happy with the change</a>.</p><p>“I was a little excited, honestly,” Báez said, per MLB.com. “I like to play outfield — I played outfield when I was a kid and I still shag in the outfield. That’s why A.J. came to me and mentioned it and I was really happy.”</p><p>Tigers fans are surely happy to see Baez playing so well. Detroit is currently in first in the American League Central.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025 SEASON STATS
BA	HR	RBI	OPS	SB
.184	1	6	0.647	0

2025 SEASON STATS
BA	HR	RBI	OPS	SB
.184	1	6	0.647	0

Javier
Báez

Latest Javier Baez News

Tigers’ A.J. Hinch reveals the key to Javier Baez’s resurgent 2025 campaign

Tigers’ A.J. Hinch makes Javier Baez ‘hug it out’ quip about ump after ejection

Javier Baez goes off on ump with NSFW rant after ejection

AJ Hinch drops truth bomb on Javier Baez’s center field move

Tigers’ Jack Flaherty sends Javier Baez warning to rest of MLB

Javier Báez

Latest Javier Baez News

Tigers’ A.J. Hinch reveals the key to Javier Baez’s resurgent 2025 campaign

Tigers’ A.J. Hinch makes Javier Baez ‘hug it out’ quip about ump after ejection

Javier Baez goes off on ump with NSFW rant after ejection

AJ Hinch drops truth bomb on Javier Baez’s center field move

Tigers’ Jack Flaherty sends Javier Baez warning to rest of MLB

Javier
Báez