Matt Underwood was as ice cold as Javier Baez’s bat.
The Guardians play-by-play commentator taunted the light-hitting Báez after the second baseman voiced his displeasure after being hit by a Nick Sandlin pitch during his at-bat in the sixth inning Tuesday night.
“Báez chirping … Look Javy, you are way under .200. Nobody’s hitting you on purpose,” Underwood said on Bally Sports. “It wasn’t even a fastball. It was a breaking ball.”
Báez took four steps while dropping his bat from his shoulder to give Sandlin a glare of anger, only to be cut off by Guardians catcher Austin Hedges and home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski.
Báez likely thought the throw was intentional, but the game was tied at 7-7 with two outs in the inning, making it improbable any pitcher would want to nail a batter in that situation.
Also, as Underwood noted, pitchers don’t usually intentionally hit batters with breaking balls.
The Tigers ultimately dropped the game, 9-8, in 10 innings.
While Underwood ripped Báez rather harshly, his remarks highlighted how the 31-year-old isn’t the same player he used to be.
The ex-Met has posted a .185/.211/.254 slash line in 199 plate appearances this season – while only having one home run.
He is surely trying to turn back the clock to his booming eight seasons with the Cubs, which included him leading the National League in RBIs in 2018.
The veteran has hit just .223 with a .608 OPS since signing a six-year, $140 million deal with Detroit before the 2022 season.
Social media also chimed in following Underwood’s dig, piggybacking off of what he said.
“Bro got hit with an off speed pitch and got all cocky cuz he thought it was on purpose, be fr bro😭,” one X user wrote.
Another response made a joke that referenced Baez’s struggles with the Tigers.
“He finally got a hit,” the user commented.
Clearly, Báez processed the situation differently than Underwood and others.
