Javy Báez safe slide

Javier Báez scored for Detroit on April 15 by lifting his hand over Salvador Perez’s tag at home, then tapping the plate on replay. (mlb.com) The play came in the bottom of the third inning at Comerica Park against Kansas City. Báez had doubled, moved to third when Zach McKinstry was thrown out at the plate after a Royals challenge, then tagged on Jake Rogers’ fly ball to right. (mlb.com) Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone threw home on the fly, and Perez caught the ball on the first-base side of the plate before lunging across. Home-plate umpire Jansen Visconti called Báez out, but Detroit challenged and replay reversed it to safe. (mlb.com) The run gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in a game they won 2-1. Detroit moved to 9-9 with a fifth straight win, while Kansas City fell to 7-11. (espn.com) The slide landed because Báez did two things at once: he avoided the glove with his upper body and kept one hand free to reach the plate after the tag passed. Major League Baseball’s replay angles showed his hand clearing Perez’s glove before touching home. (mlb.com) That kind of body control fits Báez’s long-running “El Mago” reputation for improvising tags, dekes and baserunning plays. MLB.com’s game story cast the slide as the latest example of the skill set that made him one of the sport’s most recognizable infielders before Detroit moved him into center field this season. (mlb.com, espn.com) The moment also landed in a different phase of Báez’s Detroit tenure. Through Detroit’s first 12 games, ESPN listed him at a.293 batting average with 1 home run and 5 runs batted in, a stronger start than the production that drew criticism during earlier seasons of his six-year Tigers contract. (espn.com, msn.com) By the end of the night, the box score showed only one run scored for Báez and no special notation for the route he took to get there. The replay made that run the part people kept watching. (espn.com, youtube.com)