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\n Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez publicly accepted complete responsibility for testing positive for marijuana in 2023, which resulted in his exclusion from the World Baseball Classic. The three-time All-Star expressed deep disappointment about missing the chance to represent Puerto Rico in the tournament being held in his homeland.\n <\/p>\n
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Detroit Tigers infielder Javier Baez has publicly taken full responsibility for a marijuana-related drug test failure that cost him the opportunity to represent Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the Tigers\u2019 spring training facility in Lakeland, Florida, Baez made his first public statements regarding the suspension. \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t want to point fingers at anybody, because this is all my fault,\u201d the veteran player said. \u201cI\u2019m the one that failed the test, and the rules are there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old shortstop\u2019s positive test occurred on March 12, 2023. As a result, the World Baseball Softball Confederation imposed a two-year prohibition that started April 26, 2024, and extends through April 26, 2026.<\/p>\n
The timing is particularly painful for Baez, as the 2026 World Baseball Classic is scheduled for March 5-17.<\/p>\n
While Major League Baseball has allowed marijuana use since 2020, meaning Baez faces no penalties from MLB or his team, the international governing body maintains stricter standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one job that I have to do: Play baseball,\u201d Baez explained. \u201cI don\u2019t know if they didn\u2019t want me in the WBC or whatever, but it\u2019s just really frustrating that I won\u2019t be able to be there and to be part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The missed opportunity holds special significance for the Puerto Rican native, who noted the tournament\u2019s rare return to his homeland. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long, long time (since) we played this tournament in Puerto Rico, and when we did, I think in 2006, I was in the stands as a fan,\u201d he reflected. \u201cTo have the chance to be part of that and now it\u2019s away from me, it really hurts. It really hurts my family, my reputation. But it\u2019s part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baez had been preparing during the offseason to join Team Puerto Rico, having previously competed in the 2017 and 2013 tournaments. Despite his disappointment about missing this \u201cdream\u201d opportunity, he emphasized his intention to move forward and concentrate on the upcoming MLB season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I understand the rules,\u201d Baez stated. \u201cThe rules are not for us. It\u2019s for different sports. It\u2019s not like I was taking steroids or anything to last longer, whatever. They (made) that decision. I\u2019m fine with it. I mean, I\u2019m not fine with it. I just keep my mouth shut.\u201d<\/p>\n
The veteran infielder enjoyed a strong 2023 campaign, earning All-Star recognition while posting a .257 batting average with 12 home runs and 57 RBIs across 126 games. His career achievements include a Silver Slugger Award as a National League second baseman in 2018 and a Gold Glove as an NL shortstop in 2020, both earned during his tenure with the Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n
Throughout his major league career spanning the Cubs (2014-21), New York Mets (2021), and Tigers (2022-present), Baez has compiled a .252 batting average with 193 home runs and 685 RBIs over 1,348 regular-season contests. He was part of the Cubs\u2019 2016 World Series championship team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez publicly accepted complete responsibility for testing positive for marijuana in 2023, which resulted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2386],"tags":[75638,75639,5,147,53,2583,75632,75640,75634,75635,75633,75636,4,594,75637],"class_list":{"0":"post-578969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-tigers","8":"tag-102-3","9":"tag-102-3fm","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-detroit","12":"tag-detroit-tigers","13":"tag-detroittigers","14":"tag-fine-day","15":"tag-fine-day-102-3","16":"tag-fine-day-fm","17":"tag-fine-day-media","18":"tag-fine-day-radio","19":"tag-have-a-fine-day","20":"tag-mlb","21":"tag-tigers","22":"tag-weller-radio"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116090811594552015","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}