Tarik Skubal's Javy Báez praise could lead to Tigers fans' change of heart

From the Tigers' series finale against the Guardians through their first two games against the Twins, Javier Báez did the seemingly impossible: he played very well. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that about 99% of Detroit's fanbase wrote Báez off long ago as a lost cause. Fans can only watch someone take so many hopeless swings at sliders a foot off the plate before they give up on a guy entirely.

However, something ignited in Báez during that three-game stretch. Through 11 at-bats, he only struck out one time, and he made Detroit history as the first nine-spot Tigers hitter to hit a home run in three consecutive games (and the first MLB player to do so since Danny Jansen in 2021).

The first Báez homer during this stretch was only his second of the entire season and first since April 14, and it was the difference maker in that game — a three-run bomb that knocked in the only Tigers runs on the night.

After Tarik Skubal's start on Monday, a 7-2 win over the Twins when Báez hit his third homer in just as many days, he said of Báez: "I love Javy, everything about him. He plays the game hard. I've always admired that about him. [...] I got a ton of respect for that player."

Tarik Skubal had high praise for Javy Báez following back-to-back-to-back home runs for Tigers

This is mystifying for Báez, who is still hitting .181 with a .278 slugging this season. It's also still way too early to say if this is the start of a Javy Báez redemption arc, but high praise from one of the Tigers' most well-liked players, if not the most well-liked, does help his case a little. While none of his teammates would ever openly speak poorly of him, that kind of effusive admiration from Skubal does speak volumes.

This won't put a definitive end to calls for the Tigers to release him; far from it. Báez has a very long way to go until he can fully redeem himself in fans' eyes — and even then, there are those who will cite his terrible first two years and never forgive him for them.

However, if this is a sign that things might be finally turning the corner for Báez, and he'll be able to make some good on the six years and $140 million the Tigers have promised him, then that's a good thing for this team. All we can say is that it's about time.