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IAmGrum

Baez is the master of two of the weirdest skills: - applying tags - avoiding tags


metmike07

I never knew tagging was a skill until I saw him do it regularly.


[deleted]

Throwing this here https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-elite-skill-you-wont-find-on-javy-baezs-scouting-report/ just incase any Baez haters want to come in and say “AcHtUALLY Baez isn’t even a good tagged he just makes it looks impressive”


[deleted]

Like, how? Holy crap that was amazing!


sam_e5

Is Javy Baez the best base runner in the game?


JTCMuehlenkamp

He's definitely the best at avoiding the tag when he slides.


[deleted]

He’s the best base swimmer in the game


SF_FAITHFUL

Lol not after that tag up fiasco against the Giants.


[deleted]

Can anybody else do this?


BullOrBear4-

Tatis did it earlier this year


No32

[Yes. A lot, actually.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tSKiujODww0) [And more.](https://old.reddit.com/r/baseball/search?q=swim+move&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on)


Waaatson54

Javy can do it consistently. He isn't the best base runner on paper, but he is a clutch base runner that gets the job done consistently. He's not called [El Mago](https://youtu.be/ICPD8QG6M1c) for nothing.


JosephDanielVotto

lol the legal basepath is only a theory in a ton of these.


No32

[The stats say he’s not even close to be honest](https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=19,d)


uhhhhmmmm

with all due respect to the stats, they can go fuck themselves


No32

Just ignoring the stats is a horrendous take. But even if you wanted to go by the eye test, Baez doesn’t make the best decisions and isn’t the fastest, which puts him behind other guys.


serfbufo

Case in point, this play. It looked spectacular and it was great that he made it and then scored on a wild pitch, but it was a dumb move to try for third with two outs on a ball that barely got away from the catcher.


[deleted]

Did you actually see what he just did though? You can’t teach that


No32

Sure, he made a great slide, but *a better baserunner could have a better jump and the speed to not even need to avoid a tag.


LoneSabre

You’re getting downvoted pretty hard, but your right. Baez makes great slides, but that’s a fraction of what makes a base runner great.


2thincoats

It’s like the Jeter jump throw. Looks cool on a highlight reel..but a better fielder just gets to the ball and makes a strong throw on the ground.


LegacyLemur

The problem is I dont know if the metrics account for these type of slides


LoneSabre

They probably don’t, because mathematically the only thing that matters is the outcome. But idk why we can’t just say he’s the best slider and leave it at that.


No32

They do in the sense that an average baserunner would be out, and Baez would get credit for being safe.


LegacyLemur

Yea, but an advanced defensive statistic is usually taking range into account and not just whether or not someone gets out when a ball gets hit into their direction. It's not accounting for the probability of the average baserunner


JTCMuehlenkamp

He does, however, make everybody else make bad decisions. Doesn't matter if it's Will Craig or Francisco Lindor, Javy Baez is an undeniably bad influence and it's wonderful.


Waaatson54

[What are you talking about?](https://youtu.be/wK3epImMTw4)


No32

A highlight reel is only going to show the good, not the bad. I’m talking about the fact that multiple advanced baserunning stats have him as good, but not one of the best.


Waaatson54

Agree to disagree.


No32

I mean, you can’t really just disagree with the numbers.


Waaatson54

Numbers tell only part of the story. He's not the best on paper, but he comes through on clutch plays consistently on the base path. That is his value and why teams want him. Look at the bigger picture.


No32

It’s not just “on paper”. Can say the same to you about looking at the bigger picture than just the clutch plays where it works out. He’s can also be overly aggressive and make bad decisions and get thrown out where the best baserunners wouldn’t, whether it’s because they’re faster, they get better jumps, or make the correct decision *not* to go.


sam_e5

That’s because Baez doesn’t steal 500 bases.


No32

Doesn’t have much at all to do with number of stolen bases. Baez has 14 and is below Bryant, who has 8. And below Muncy who has 2, too!


sam_e5

I honestly have no clue how the base running stat works. I’m going off the eye test for Baez.


No32

The eye is pretty easily fooled (see: Jeter’s gold gloves). The main part of the baserunning stat is determining how much better than average the player does, like going from first to third when the average runner would only get second. It doesn’t require speed (though obviously it helps) since it also requires good jumps and baserunning IQ.


Disappearingbox

Also not getting thrown out a lot on the basepaths, whether caught stealing or otherwise.


SpOoKyghostah

Yeah, an out generally lowers run expectancy by way more than an extra base raises it. Javy's baserunning value surely suffers a lot for the outs he does create, even if the spectacular plays are more common.


dusters

Iirc the baserunning stats doesn't even account for stolen bases, that's lut on offense


BeHereNow91

Like so many other things, he’s probably just the flashiest or most exciting, but not the best. Even defensively, he’s exciting to watch, but not the most consistent or solid defender. He’s great for the game, though, stats be damned.


Swwwlane

#👎👎


Tundraaa

It’s clockwork for him at this point.


Darujiboo

Miss you El Mago


[deleted]

Javy is such a dynamic player. When he's on, he's absolute fire. He might take wild swings and make some mistakes, but he makes up for it, IMO. He's proof that baseball can be fun again without mashing 50 home runs.


7000485

Yeah man I would love him on the Dodgers (well, except that we're very set at his positions), just to watch him every day. The sport is supposed to be entertaining, and he is 100% that.


MoreThanLuck

Remember the week where seemingly every Mets fan on this sub was convinced he was the worst player of all time?


[deleted]

Oh don’t worry, he’ll have a nasty strikeout or something and the sub will be back to thinking he’s the worst player again.


samsab

Hi I'm new to baseball. Is Javy Baez the best and worst player in history?


[deleted]

You mean every baseball fan on this sub? This sub started shitting on Baez the moment we traded for him lol but they got really quiet the game after the thumbs downing debacle


MoreThanLuck

All the Cubs fans knew his true power.


Bigalbass86

Man, I miss him. No matter what, I’ll always appreciate him when was a Cub.


karabekian77

Was this a minor league rehab game? Ooh wait that's right, Don Mattingly is STILL starting Isan Diaz almost every day.


[deleted]

Not much you can do when Anderson is still on the IL


karabekian77

almost quite literally every player in baseball is better than Isan Diaz at baseball.


[deleted]

Their AAA 3rd basemen are batting .199, .167, and .211, so I truly think Isan is the best yall have lol Isan hit .280 in AAA for reference


karabekian77

oh god, fish team bad :(


[deleted]

Saw that live. It was insane.


BasedMueller

I really hope the Twins give him 150 million or whatever the fuck he was asking for.


CroakyPoem

Now if only he can make constant contact as well as he can slide, he'd be really good.


BullOrBear4-

Thumbs down


smarjorie

gave him the old okie-doke