Detroit, MI
Javier Báez continues to make magical moments for Detroit Tigers
Breaking down Javier Báez’s unexpected strong start to 2025 season
Mark Gorosh and Freep sports reporter Jared Ramsey debate surprising early season performance of Javier Báez for Tigers on the “Days of Roar” podcast.
TORONTO — Just when you think that Javier Báez can’t top himself.
Just when you think: OK, there’s no way he has more magic inside that glove. Or maybe, inside his heart.
Well, he does something else. He tops himself — this time, making a spectacular “Superman”-style catch, adding yet another layer to this amazing comeback story. Look, it’s a bird … it’s a plane … nope, it’s just “El Mago” doing his thing.
“How special he’s been,” Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty said with pure admiration after Báez made play after play, in big moment after big moment, in a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on May 16. “It’s awesome.”
The first moment happened in the second inning. Toronto’s Addison Barger was on first after a Flaherty walk and Nathan Lukes drilled a ball into the right-center gap.
You could almost see Barger thinking: Oh, I might score. At the very least, I might end up on third.
But Baez made another amazing, jaw-dropping diving catch. He looked like Superman, flying through the air, his body parallel to the ground as he snagged the ball. Then, he made it even better. He sprang up and fired a perfect throw to Spencer Torkelson at first base, easily doubling Barger off.
El Mago.
The Magician — two for the price of one.
End of the inning.
Celebrate 125 seasons of Tigers magic!
“I saw him break and he had a pretty perfect angle at it,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Then the layout, and I might be equally as impressed with the throw, just to be able to catch his breath for a second and get up and throw a one-hopper for the double play — impactful play, very big at the point of the game, to be able to end the inning, keep Jack’s pitch count down and kind of demoralize the other side.”
You almost forget that, for this converted Gold Glove shortstop, this was just his 22nd game in center in the big leagues and he was out there, in the words of Hinch, showing “his athleticism in center field at a field he’s never played center field — pretty awesome stuff.”
The route was perfect. The read was perfect. The jump? Yeah, simply perfect. Báez caught the ball 340 feet from home plate and then he had the instincts to come up firing. Which is the only part that was not really surprising. Because he’s the most instinctual player on this team.
“I was surprised with the catch, honestly,” Báez said. “As soon as I caught it, I saw he was kind of flying. So I kind of made sure that it was a good throw.”
He kind of shrugged. It’s like he surprises himself sometimes. Like the magician doesn’t know the tricks until he pulls the magic from the hat.
But that moment did so many things for the Tigers.
First of all, he single-handedly saved a seriously stressful moment for Flaherty. At worst, the Blue Jays would have had runners on second and third with one out. And it saved pitches on Flaherty’s arm.
“I want to talk about Javy,” Flaherty said, after earning an encouraging outing. “He comes here and struggles for two years. But it just it goes to show that you can’t write guys off or give up on guys, especially a guy like that, who is as talented as anybody who has probably ever played this game.”
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Yes, Flaherty was thankful for Báez. But it resonated far deeper than that. Flaherty completely appreciates how Báez has gone through the fire and come out the other side, finding the magic again.
“It’s in there, it doesn’t just go away,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty appreciates everything about Báez : the work he’s done behind the scenes and the adjustments he’s made and how he has embraced playing center. “I’m so happy for him, and it’s awesome to see,” Flaherty said. “It’s also a testament to who he is and how much work he’s put behind everything — no matter who wants to try to write you off, or what they have to say.”
Hinch wants his players to find a way to contribute to a win, either at the plate or in the field. And Báez certainly did that and more.
Because in the top of the eighth, the game was getting tight after the Blue Jays had pulled to 4-3.
But there is something important we are learning about Báez. Something fans in other places already knew: The bigger the moment, the better Báez plays. And he hit a 95 mph fastball, crushing it 408 feet to left-center for a home run, his third in three games and his sixth this season — as many as he had all of last year.
“He’s swung the bat pretty well to the pull side,” Hinch said. “He’s getting pitches to hit and we’ve always told him, or we’re telling him, that don’t you have to be perfect. Get a pitch to hit and and have a plan. He did and he didn’t miss.”
But Báez wasn’t done.
There was one final defensive play.
In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, Myles Straw hit a sinking liner to center field. But Báez came flying up, trying to catch it. He couldn’t get there in time. But more importantly, he didn’t let it get past him because the tying run was on base.
“If the ball gets past them, we’re probably still playing,” Hinch said.
And so, this amazing, magical season continues for Báez. He entered this game with a .309 batting average in 130 plate appearances — just a few short of the 140 currently required to qualify for the batting title. Still, he was ninth in average and tied for ninth with 27 RBIs. That was thanks to a 15-game stretch in which he hit .368 (21-for-57) with five homers, 15 runs and 23 RBIs for a 1.179 OPS since April 26. And then he homered against the Blue Jays.
Put another way: He’s just raking.
“It feels great, honestly,” Báez said, “to give something to the team.”
That’s not a throwaway line. It’s the essence of who he is. This is a magician who performs for others, not for himself.
Everything is for the team. For everyone else.
And that is why the better this team plays, the bigger the moment, the more magic comes out of Báez.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger and Fr. Mario Amore on restructuring
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger and Fr. Mario Amore on the archdiocese restructuring on Nov. 17, 2025 in Detroit
The list of Catholic parishes targeted for the possible stoppage of weekend Masses has grown to about 90 parishes across southeast Michigan, according to the latest proposed models the Archdiocese of Detroit has released as part of its major restructuring process.
The archdiocese released on Thursday the models for potential parish groupings for the six remaining planning areas in the archdiocese, and 32 parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. Previously released models showed that 58 other parishes could stop holding weekend Mass.
The Archdiocese of Detroit recently completed listening sessions meant to garner feedback on the models, but parishioners can still share input through a survey that is open until July 31.
The archdiocese has been divided into 15 planning areas, or geographic areas, and three or four models are being proposed for each planning area, said the Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
The models have different proposed groupings of parishes ― called pastorates ― in which a grouping would share a pastor and potentially other priests. In some cases, selected churches in the grouping would no longer hold Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass.
The models released on Thursday are for planning areas 6, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 15, which include parts of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and parishes in St. Clair and Lapeer counties.
Sixteen of the parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under any of the models, including St. Alphonsus-Clement Parish in Dearborn, Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Redford Township and Our Lady of Hope Parish in St. Clair Shores.
The models are part of the archdiocese’s biggest restructuring plan in years. Announced last fall, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said the archdiocese can’t maintain the roughly 200 existing parish buildings and is working to “right-size” the archdiocese, along with its personnel and financial resources.
Holly Fournier, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Detroit, emphasized that the models are just draft proposals “intended to solicit feedback from parishioners.” She said no decisions have been made regarding pastorate groupings, weekend Mass schedules or any other aspect of the restructuring process.
The Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said in May that parishioners understand that the archdiocese “needs to do something” about its challenges. But when it becomes personal for people, it’s “very difficult,” he said.
“And there’s a lot of human emotions, and … we need to honor that,” Amore said. “We need to be attentive to that, and no one’s saying that it’s an easy process, and it’s not a process that … we’re happy that we need to undertake, but it is one that we do need to undertake.”
What the latest Wayne County models show
Planning Area 6, which is in the southern section of Wayne County, excluding the Downriver area, includes 16 parishes. Eight of them would stop holding Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass under at least one of the models for the planning area.
They include St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy in Westland, St. Richard in Westland, St. Aloysius in Romulus, St. Sabina in Dearborn Heights, St. Linus in Dearborn Heights, Divine Child in Dearborn, St. Alphonsus -St. Clement in Dearborn and St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Dearborn.
Planning Area 7, which includes the northwest portion of Wayne County, has 15 parishes, four of which wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Loretto in Redford Township, St. John XXIII in Redford Township, St. Priscilla in Livonia and Resurrection in Canton Township.
What the latest Oakland and Macomb Co. models show
Planning Area 8, which is in southern Oakland County, has 13 parishes, six of which wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. They include St. William in Walled Lake, St. Gerald in Farmington, Prince of Peace in West Bloomfield, St. Joseph in South Lyon, Church of the Transfiguration in Southfield and Our Lady of Albanians in Southfield.
Planning Area 11, which includes the southeastern section of Macomb County, the Grosse Pointe communities and one parish in Detroit, has 14 parishes. Seven of them wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Hope in St. Clair Shores, St. Lucy in St. Clair Shores, St. Basil the Great in Eastpointe, St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Clair Shores, Holy Innocents-St. Barnabas in Roseville, St. Matthew in Detroit and St. Clare of Montefalco in Grosse Pointe Park.
What the models in St. Clair, Lapeer counties show
Planning Area 14, which is in St. Clair County, has 12 parishes, five of which wouldn’t have Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass in at least one model. They include Sacred Heart in Yale, St. Edward on the Lake in Lakeport, Holy Trinity in Port Huron, St. Christopher in Marysville and Immaculate Conception in Ira Township.
Planning Area 15, which is in Lapeer County and part of northern Macomb County, includes ten parishes. Two wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include St. Mary Burnside in North Branch and St. Cornelius in Dryden.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
Carl’s Chop House, 3020 Grand River in Detroit, 1923-2008
It was one of the most prominent restaurants in Detroit throughout the 20th century. Carl’s Chop House served Detroit for decades, from the Great Depression through the new Millennium.
Founder Carl Rosenfield first opened as the Grand River Chophouse in the early 1920s and he moved the business across the street and renamed it Carl’s in the 1930s. The often-repeated story goes that he won the full ownership of a bar from his partner in a poker game and turned it into Carl’s Chop House.
Prior to his restaurant success, Rosenfield was a well-known tire merchant. At one point, Rosenfield also owned a lighthouse near Port Sanilac.
As a restaurateur, Rosenfield persevered through many trials, including the Great Depression and a beef shortage during World War II, which left the steakhouse to serve chicken, lobster, sturgeon and “a lot of fish I never heard of,” he was quoted as saying.
A sirloin steak dinner was $1 when Carl’s Chop House opened.
By the 1960s, business was booming, and the restaurant was serving thousands of customers daily and had plans to expand the 850-seat dining room to 1,200. By then, steak dinners were up to $6.
They bounced up to $10 in the 1970s when longtime Detroit News restaurant reporter and critic Molly Abraham included Carl’s in a column, pointing out that even though the restaurant was a bit out of fashion — it had been open for more than 50 years by then — she describes the place as having “an infectiously festive, informal atmosphere.”
Along with the steaks, convivial atmosphere and firm handshakes, Carl’s Chop House was known for always being open, even on Sundays. The only day of the year it was closed was Christmas Day, Dec. 25, which was also Rosenfield’s birthday.
Rosenfield, who would support local farmers by purchasing cattle and other livestock from the Michigan State Fair, was still working at the restaurant in the 1980s when he was in his 90s. He died in 1991 at age 95.
The new owners of Carl’s Chop House ushered it into the next century for another generation to enjoy.
It wasn’t the same without its namesake proprietor, who was known for an absolutely crushing handshake, however. In 2008, owner Frank Passalacqua filed an application with the state for a topless permit, hoping to turn the property, which was now a neighbor of MotorCity Casino, from a steakhouse to a strip club.
Passalacqua, who was more successful at Mario’s Italian restaurant in the Cass Corridor, said he was losing $1 million a year on Carl’s. The gentleman’s club idea never materialized. Carl’s closed in 2008 and the building was demolished in 2010.
mbaetens@detroitnews.com
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