Javier Baez Gets Benched After Forgetting How Many Outs There Were, Lazy Base Running

The second inning of the Tigers - Blue Jays game on Thursday night was none too kind to Detroit shortstop Javier Baez.

The 30-year-old was benched after not one, but two boneheaded mistakes during back-to-back at-bats.

Baez hit a rope during his first plate appearance on Thursday night and decided to admire his hit thinking that it was a home run. He was slow out of the batter's box and only made his way to second after the ball ultimately hit the top of the wall.

Standing on second, Akil Baddoo came to the plate and lined out to center field. Baez casually watched the fly out thinking that it was the third out of the inning, but it was actually just the second. The inning ended with a not-so-common 8-4 double play, and Baez's night was finished as a result.

The only math Baez has to do at all during his life is to count to three, but he failed to do so on Thursday in Toronto.

Detroit manager A.J. Hinch claimed that the entire team has made mistakes out of the gates this season and his benching of Baez was a message to the entire team.

"It's not really even all about Javy. I think if you watch the last couple series, we've made a number of mental mistakes," Hinch said after the game. "The one thing we can control is our preparedness and our readiness. Javy happened to be the runner that made the big mistake where I made the move, but it's a message to our whole team that we've got to clean that up."

Baez is no stranger to being pulled from a game for forgetting how many outs there were in an inning. A similar situation unfolded during his time with the Cubs in 2021 as he was doubled up off of first base.