Cubs fans welcoming back Javy Baez was actually even wholesome for Tigers fans

On Tuesday, the Tigers began their seven-game road trip to Chicago with a stop at Wrigley, Javy Báez's old stomping grounds. It's been three years since Báez left the Cubs, and surprisingly, he hasn't been back to Wrigley since. He's actually only seen the Cubs once since going to the Mets at the 2021 trade deadline, and it was a series the Tigers hosted at Comerica last season.

Báez's travails since leaving the Cubs are extensive and well-documented, but there was undoubtedly something magical (hence the nickname El Mago) about his eight years in Chicago. He was a two-time All-Star there, it's where he got his Silver Slugger and Gold Glove, and he placed second in MVP voting in 2018 with a league-leading 111 RBI. He was the 2016 NLCS MVP, the year the Cubs broke their 108-year World Series drought.

Báez got his first return at-bat at Wrigley in the top of the second, and the Cubs fans in attendance gave him a standing ovation. The umpire allowed Báez to take the scene in and acknowledge the crowd before he settled into the box.

He'll never be that beloved in Detroit, but it was a nice moment for him, and a heartwarming return to a place that will always hold him dear.

Javier Báez returned to Wrigley Field for the first time — and helped the Cubs to a 3-1 win over the Tigers

Báez had the chance to do something that would've been a bit of a double-edged sword for Cubs fans to witness: drive in a run. Dillon Dingler had already gotten the scoring started with an RBI single to score Spencer Torkelson. With Jace Jung on second and Dingler on first with just one out, Báez was in a prime position to score Jung and keep the momentum going for Detroit. Instead, he struck out on four pitches.

That would be the tenor of the rest of Báez's game. He struck out again in the fifth on a nice sinker, again in the seventh on a sinker out of the zone, and then again in the bottom of the ninth, as the Tigers' last chance to try to make up a two-run deficit. 0-4, four Ks.

And that's just what Báez looks like as a Detroit Tiger. Tigers fans have a lot of reasons to dislike this guy, but at least he finally got his moment in the sun at Wrigley.