LOS ANGELES – As a teenager, Javier Báez got the Major League Baseball logo tattooed onto the back of his neck, an outward sign of his confidence, ambition and attachment to the game.



On Tuesday night, the boos started from the moment the Dodger Stadium PA announcer dropped his name and Báez walked up to the batter’s box for his first at-bat. As Báez said: I love LA, except for the traffic. This is where “Javy Being Javy” became a blockbuster hit during the 2016 playoffs. A national audience really began to see in the NLCS co-MVP what the Cubs had known for years — those freakish instincts, that defensive radar and the flair to make something as routine as tagging look cool.



The kid with the logo tattoo has grown up and become his own billboard for a game that can feel too slow, too boring and too regional. Báez takes big swings, makes big plays and shows his big personality on the field. In front of a sellout...