The World Baseball Classic continued to be fun Tuesday night, with Puerto Rico toppling the Dominican Republic 3-1 to snap the DR’s 11-game tournament win streak.
But no one had more fun than Javier Baez.
The Puerto Rico second baseman, one of the most exciting young players in the game, lived up to his reputation Tuesday with a play you’ll need to watch a few times to fully appreciate.
With two outs in the top of the eighth inning, the Dominican’s Nelson Cruz tried to steal second base. But Puerto Rico catcher Yadier Molina fired a perfect strike to Baez, who did this:
Baez started celebrating before he even caught the ball, casually applying a perfect tag on Cruz to end the inning without even looking. Now that’s swagger.
It was a big play in the game, too, ending the DR’s eighth-inning threat and helping Puerto Rico secure the 3-1 upset win in Pool F play. If only Baez had looked before he got that Chicago Cubs World Series champions tattoo …
Thumbnail photo via Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports Images
