Javy Baez targeted by ruthless bar sign ahead of his return to former ballpark

Mar 31, 2022; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (28) in the second inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays during spring training at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Javier Baez will be getting a warm welcome from many in Chicago this week … but not quite from everyone.

The Detroit Tigers shortstop Baez is making his return to Wrigley Field for the first time since getting traded by the Chicago Cubs in 2021. The three-game set will mark the very first time in his career that Baez has played at Wrigley as a visitor.

Ahead of the opening game of the series, a ruthless bar sign from Murphy’s Bleachers, a sports pub right across the street from Wrigley Field, went viral. The sign read, “Welcome back Javy. We sure don’t miss that batting avg.”

That is a pretty cruel way to treat Baez, a homegrown Cub who played his first eight career seasons with the team. Baez was also a two-time All-Star, a Gold Glover, and a Silver Slugger Award winner in Chicago. Plus, he served as a key starter on the Cubs team that broke the longstanding Curse of the Billy Goat by winning the World Series in 2016.

Still though, the bar sign is not exactly wrong as Baez is notorious for his low batting average and high strikeout rate. Though Baez is a career .253 hitter, he was down to .203 in his last full season with the Cubs and is even worse now in Detroit, batting a wretched .185 thus far in 2024. Earlier this season, we even witnessed an opposing announcer take an on-air dig at Baez’s poor batting average .

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