• Javier Báez had a spectacular defensive game for the Detroit Tigers in their 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
• Báez made a “Superman” catch in center field, doubling off a runner at first base.
• He also hit a home run, his third in three games, and made another key defensive play in the ninth inning.

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.

INJURY UPDATE: Detroit Tigers’ Parker Meadows facing ‘last’ and ‘big step’ in his recovery

“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 22^nd 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.”

ON THE MOUND: Secret of Reese Olson? That blank baby face with rosy cheeks hides a burning desire

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.”

[ NEW TIGERS NEWSLETTER! Sign up for The Purr-fect Game, a weekly dose of Tigers news, numbers and analysis for Freep subscribers, here. ] 

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.

REMEMBERING THE JUICE: Chet Lemon did more off the field than he ever did for the Detroit Tigers

“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.