Guardians announcer puts Javy Baez on blast for starting HBP drama

Getting hit by a pitch is never fun. It can really hurt, and hitters want to swing the bat. To the surprise of nobody, Javier Baez of the Detroit Tigers did not appear to enjoy getting hit by a pitch on Tuesday night.

Cleveland Guardians reliever Nick Sandlin hit Baez with the first pitch he threw to him, causing the Tigers' shortstop to drop the bat, stare out at Sandlin, and even walk toward the mound before Guardians catcher Austin Hedges calmed him down.

Baez reacting the way he did was not something that the Guardians play-by-play commentator Matt Underwood seemed to think was appropriate. Just listen to what he had to say.

Guardians announcer says what many were thinking after Javy Baez reacted to getting hit by pitch

Is he wrong? Does Baez really think that with two outs and nobody on in a tie game, Sandlin wants to hit him? This isn't 2018 anymore, when he was a borderline MVP candidate. Baez is a shell of the player he once was even since he signed in the Motor City.

The 31-year-old is slashing .182/.212/.250 with one home run and 25 RBI. He has the lowest OPS in the majors among players with at least 200 plate appearances. He has a total of one home run in 192 at-bats. Simply put, he has been one of the worst players in the majors this season, and really since inking a six-year deal with Detroit ahead of the 2022 campaign.

What makes this worse is it's not as if Baez was drilled in the head with a 99 mph fastball. Sandlin lost control of a slider that happened to hit him. This happens all the time. Taking the game situation into mind, it's really hard to believe Sandlin was trying to hit him with an off-speed pitch.

In Baez's defense, though, this was just the second time he had gotten hit by a pitch all season. Pitchers have been so focused on throwing sliders down and away from Baez, knowing that he'll chase them. Baez is not used to having anything near him, and his reaction proves that.

The Tigers scored eight runs on 11 hits on Tuesday. Baez was the only starter who failed to record a hit. Baez having the audacity to assume someone was trying to hit him on purpose with a slider in that situation is both hilarious and just downright confusing.