AJ Hinch wanted Javier Baez on his baseball team. And if you believe Hinch is one of the best managers in the game, then it isn’t a stretch to believe Hinch sees a few things in the Detroit Tigers’ new shortstop that aren’t as easily seen by everyone else.
Which means that your view of signing Baez to a six-year, $140 million contract, as the Tigers just did, comes down to whether you trust the manager. Because the manager sure trusts Baez.
To hear Al Avila tell it Wednesday, Hinch was so excited when Baez agreed to the deal that he kept his general manager on the phone until almost 4 a.m. early this week.
‘THE PERFECT FIT’: Why signing shortstop Javier Baez is ‘turning point’ for Tigers
“That’s not an exaggeration,” Hinch joked, before adding, “We’re all in different time zones so it benefited me … more than it benefited Al.”
If Hinch is that pumped to pencil in Baez every day — and he said more than once that he was — then he obviously has his reasons beyond on-base percentages and strikeout rates and defensive runs saved. Yes, those metrics matter. To Hinch, so does this:
“His competitive character is remarkable. He has a short memory. … Part of being a marquee player — a high-end player — is how you impact your teammates.”
Hinch likes to say “let’s bring winners here and see where that takes us.” It’s at once a deflection of his own imprint on a team and a window into how much he thinks like a football coach.
A FULL BREAKDOWN: Evaluating Tigers SS Javier Baez: A lot to like with one big negative
Or a basketball or hockey coach.
It’s easy to dismiss the competitive impact of a baseball player. Mostly because it’s not a physical sport, other than the occasional collision at home plate.
But also, because the two central skills required — hitting and pitching — demand extraordinary focus and internal quiet. They are also solitary acts.
So, words like “fire” and “flare” get tossed around far more frequently in football and basketball and hockey. Hinch, though, believes that certain kinds of baseball players can boost a team in ways beyond home runs and strikeouts.
And he believes Baez is that kind of player.
“He’s got incredible impact on a team,” he said.
He’s already seen it. Heard it, too.
JEFF SEIDEL: Why did Tigers get Javier Baez? Christopher Ilitch learned from his dad’s mistakes
The night the Tigers signed Baez, texts flew between Akil Baddoo and Casey Mize and Jonathan Schoop and Gregory Soto and Miguel Cabrera. They were pumped.
“Brings immediate comfort,” said Hinch.
Baez referred to what he brings as “magic.” And while that might sound like he enjoys his own aura a little too much, he didn’t mean it that way. He meant he wanted to try to create magic. He meant that playing baseball, no, enjoying baseball, is a kind of magic.
Few players show that enjoyment like Baez.
Avila noticed it in person a few years ago at Wrigley Field, when the Tigers were getting run over by Baez’s baserunning and glove work and power and overall electricity.
“He was killing us,” said Avila.
Which prompted a question:
“Can we get a guy like that?”
Well, Avila got that guy. And Hinch got that guy. And Chris Ilitch wrote the check to get that guy.
“A turning point,” he called it.
SHAWN WINDSOR: Tigers fans need to stop and breathe. Carlos Correa wasn’t only path to a title
Not just Baez, but signing pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and catcher Tucker Barnhart this offseason, too. Ilitch was finally ready to spend.
Is it the turning point? Or a turning point?
Ilitch wasn’t ready to say. Nor should he be. The Tigers showed improvement and that they could be competitive last season, especially its second half.
Yet there is distance to cover. Baez should help cover it more quickly.
In the dirt between second and third and in the effort to jolt the roster, he is the kind of player the manager contends makes a difference. Baez believes he is that player as well.
“I’m (gonna) bring my talent, my magic over here and see how I can help these guys,” he said.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.