Javier Báez is the perfect puzzle for the modern game.
At a time when everything on the field is tracked, contextualized and used to predict future outcomes, baseball's most enigmatic player defies logic and expectations.
The best hitters today typically are countering the opposing pitchers' strikeout stuff by swinging less, walking more and trying to hit home runs. Báez hacks at more than 56% of the pitches he sees, and misses more than 40% of the time when he swings. No player who strikes out 10 times more than he walks should be able succeed in the big leagues, and yet he inexplicably makes it work.