One veteran hitter is having a redemption arc that very few saw coming.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Javy Baez has been named a starter for the AL in this year’s MLB All-Star Game. MLB announced the news on Wednesday, noting that this is Baez’s first All-Star selection since 2019 (when he was still playing in the infield full-time).
2018: Starting NL 2B
— MLB (@MLB) July 2, 2025
2019: Starting NL SS
2025: Starting AL OF
The Javy Báez comeback tour is making a stop at the All-Star Game! pic.twitter.com/dmv5OG0sL8
Fans were stunned to see the news about Baez starting, especially alongside teammate Riley Greene (who has produced 19 homers and 63 RBIs in just 83 games) and Aaron Judge (who leads MLB in every major slash line category). Take a look at some of the reactions, featuring some voicing disbelief and skepticism and others voicing support for Baez.
Javier Baez in the American League outfield pic.twitter.com/ohSjdt4Q5I
— SleeperMets (@SleeperMets) July 2, 2025
imagine showing this to someone two years ago
— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) July 2, 2025
Speechless
— Chris Castellani (@Castellani2014) July 2, 2025
Quite possibly the single greatest turnaround by an athlete in the history of Detroit.
He was cooked, and somehow uncooked himself. https://t.co/uDWhdU6nsu
Beautifully bizarre
— Jim Costa (@JimCosta_) July 2, 2025
What an incredible, unthinkable story he’s been https://t.co/ZwPKSJvVFd
Baez’s numbers look good this year with a .285 batting average and a .783 OPS to go along with nine home runs and 36 RBIs. But what is absolutely staggering is the dramatic improvement (at 32 years old) that Baez has shown since last season.
In 2024, Baez was one of the worst statistical hitters in all of baseball. On a contract paying him over $23 million per year, Baez was a negative WAR player for the Tigers, batting below The Mendoza Line at .184 and striking out 69 times in just 80 games. But in 2025, Baez (against all odds) has improved his batting average by over 100 points, has sizably trimmed down his strikeouts, and is hitting for consistent power once again.
Some fans believe that Minnesota’s Byron Buxton or Cleveland’s Steven Kwan deserved the starting nod for the AL over Baez instead. But what everyone can agree on is that Baez and the MLB-best Tigers have been one of the very best stories in baseball this season (especially with how big of a laughingstock Baez had become in recent years).
