Reactions to Javy Báez’s ridiculous strikeout show Tigers fans haven't forgiven him

From April through June, Javy Báez managed to do the impossible: get Tigers fans to root for him. It sort of started in on April 30, when his first homer of the year came on a grand slam against the Astros, but what really did it was his two-homer, six-RBI night against the Red Sox on May 13, when he walked it off for Detroit in the bottom of the 11th with a miraculous homer.

Between those two dates, he batted .357 with a 1.148 OPS and was making plays in center field like he'd always been there.

There were "Javy!" chants at Comerica Park after that Red Sox game. That would've been unheard of just weeks prior.

However, Báez (along with a number of the Tigers' key bats) has been struggling more as of late. The Tigers' series against the Twins this week was a particularly rough watch, as Detroit dropped two thanks to bullpen blowups and a floundering offense.

On Tuesday, when the Tigers lost 6-3 after Chris Paddack and Rafael Montero made Scott Harris' trade deadline strategy look foolish, Báez went 0-4 with two strikeouts, both of which looked hauntingly similar to ones that Tigers fans have expressed exasperation with since he first joined the team.

Maybe Tigers fans haven't forgiven or forgotten quite yet.

Javy Báez reminded Tigers fans why they spent years hating him during painful series vs. Twins

Despite a fantastic three months, Báez cooled off significantly in July and hit a paltry .180 with a .426 OPS. He actually had a pretty great game on Aug. 2 against the Phillies — the only game the Tigers won in that series — when he had a four-RBI night on a two-run homer and two-run triple.

But it's clear that years of memes and opposing fans laughing at the Tigers via some of Báez's most hopeless swings have taken their toll on Detroit fans. And, to be fair, those strikeouts — first on a pitch that the catcher set up four feet away from the plate, and the second looking at a meatball down the middle — were horrendous.

There are other Tigers players who are hitting worse than Báez of late; Riley Greene's numbers over his last seven games are worse in every respect. But perhaps an outsized reaction to an embarrassing Báez strikeout isn't all that surprising. With the Tigers' division lead slipping, goodwill is harder to come by.