BOB NIGHTENGALE

Javier Baez establishing himself as Cubs' next big star

Bob Nightengale
USA TODAY Sports

SAN FRANCISCO - Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez is on the verge of turning baseball’s postseason into his own stage.

Javier Baez ha three hits, including a decisive home run, in the first two games of the NL Division Series.

We can’t take our eyes off of him.

He’s hitting a game-winning home run one minute, ducking a retaliatory pitch the next, making a mental gaffe one minute, and taunting the San Francisco Giants the next.

Baez is must-see TV, the pilot in their mission to go where no Cubs team has gone in 108 years.

Yet, for Baez, this postseason means so much more than being in a historic parade, winning a baseball trophy, or wearing a gaudy championship ring.

This, he says, is for Noely, his late sister.

“She meant everything to me,’’ Baez says, “everything. Everything I do is in honor of her. I know she is watching.’’

Madison Bumgarner, Jake Arrieta pack a punch at the plate

Noely, born with spina bifida, wasn’t supposed to survive a day, but lived until she was 21, dying in April 2015.

Baez, 23, who called her a miracle, stopped playing baseball for two weeks, and to be honest, didn’t want to come back. How could he play baseball when the person he wanted to please the most was gone?

“It was heartbreaking seeing Javy and his family at Noely’s funeral,’’ said Tom Clark, the scout who signed Baez after the Cubs drafted him ninth overall in the 2011 draft . “He was extremely close to his sister. She would come to his games. He would talk about her all of the time, saying how much he loved her.

“You saw all that emotion come out when he hit that homer in Game 1.’’

Baez, with the biggest hit of the Cubs’ season, a homer off San Francisco Giants starter Johnny Cueto in a scoreless duel in the eighth inning, ran around the bases, crossed the plate, looked up, and pointed his index fingers to the heavens.

“This is for you, Noely.’’

It was a moment he’ll forever cherish, and every time he looks at that home run baseball sitting in his locker, he thinks of Noely, knowing no one at Wrigley would have rejoiced more than his sister.

“She’s the one who gives me strength,’’ says Baez, whose right shoulder is covered by a tattoo of Noely’s face. “I can feel it.’’

His passion and skill are both on display this October, a stage for his unworldly baseball instincts, his base running, his power, his defensive skills, and yes, even the occasional mental gaffe.

MLB postseason: Schedule, start times, pitching matchups, TV info

“It’s pretty hard for me to contain myself talking about him,” says Arizona Diamondbacks special assistant Tim Wilken, the Cubs’ scouting director who drafted Baez, a Puerto Rico native, out of a Jacksonville high school. “He was a no-doubter when you saw him. He had everything. But in high school, because of his power and those 450-foot homers, people lost focus on how he played the game.

“He’s got so much zest and energy, but I think people thought he played a bit out of control, maybe too flashy, too much flair. People have been misgauging him for a long time. You watch him now, ever since his sister passed away, he’s more focused than he’s ever been.’’

Baez, who was supposed to blossom before MVP favorite Kris Bryant and shortstop Addison Russell, perhaps took a little longer than anticipated to arrive, but it was Cubs manager Joe Maddon, Wilken says, who recognized Baez’s true value.

Sure, the Cubs already had a brilliant shortstop in Russell. A superstar third baseman in Bryant. And they shelled out $56 million to lure Ben Zobrist to be their second baseman. Yet, it was Maddon, Wilken says, who came up with the idea of becoming a super utilityman, despite his age and inexperience.

After all, Baez can play eight - yes, eight - positions, and some scouts wanted to make Baez a full-time catcher.

The Cubs, selecting Baez in the same draft as Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor, are convinced Baez could win a Gold Glove if he were entrenched at any infield position. They instead have turned him into the game’s youngest and finest utilityman. He’ll play second base if the Cubs believe there will be more balls hit to the right side of the infield one game, third base if they believe they’ll be hit to the left side, or his natural position at shortstop when Russell needs a breather.

Baez, who hit .273 with 14 homers and 59 RBI, became only the second Cubs’ player in the last 89 years to start at least 20 games at the three different infield positions.

“There’s a lot of guys who don’t like it, and would be uncomfortable moving around,’’ says Cubs infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist, who has made a career out of it, “but I never heard a peep out of him about that. His ability and talent is special, but it’s that mindset that stands out. He has the power at the plate, and the ability to make highlight plays all over the field, but the most impressive thing is his baserunning, to be honest.

“He is so gifted at reading the ball, he can take chances, and he’s fearless.’’

The Cubs still are marveling how he scored from second base on pitcher Kyle Hendricks’ two-run single in Game 2, catcher Miguel Montero says he’s the greatest infielder in the game applying tags, and veteran catcher David Ross simply calls him the greatest defensive player he’s ever seen.

“I think players know how good they are, and what they can do,’’ Baez says quietly, “and I know what I can do. And I think I’m really good at what I do.’’

It’s not being boastful, but simply confident. This is someone who had an MLB logo tattooed on the back of his neck in high school. Baez knew this is where he belonged. Even if he wanted to attend college, he says, he couldn’t. He knew he needed to provide for his family after the death of his father in 2004.

Angel Luis Baez, Javy’s first coach, fell in the bathroom in the middle of the night, suffering a deep head wound. Baez and his brothers could not reach their mom, Nelida, who was at the hospital caring for Noely. So the boys took Angel to the hospital, themselves.

It was too late.

Javy Baez was 12 years old.

The family, with Noely needing better health care, soon moved from Puerto Rico to the United States, winding up in Jacksonville.

Three years after the Cubs signed him for a $2.6 million bonus, on Aug 5, 2014, the entire family, including Noely, were in Denver to see Baez make his major-league debut. He homered that day, pointed towards the sky, acknowledging his father, and then looked into the crowd for Noely, cheering. Baez, who bought a new house for Noely and his mom, and a customized minivan with a wheelchair ramp, brought them to wherever he played.

Now, on baseball’s national stage with Game 3 of the Division Series on Monday night against the Giants, Baez believes Noely is right here, too. And, yes, he knows Noely would have been scolding him, too, for admiring his blast in Game 2 believing he homered, only to be thrown out at second base.

MLB's wild-card winners have no advantage over clubs with more days off

“You’ve seen that he can be prone to the mental mistake on occasion,’’ Maddon said, “and we’ve talked about that. But the beautiful part about him is he is very accountable and he listens.

“But when it comes down to pure ability and talent at a very youthful moment in his life, it’s different. It’s very dangerous to coach instinct, and I never want to subtract from this guy. I just want to take what he has and harness it a little bit.

“Just give him another couple, three years, and the potential of this guy is really through the roof, in every component of the game.”

Then again, the way he’s performing, maybe all he needs is three weeks, culminating with a World Series championship.

“I dream of that,’’ Baez says, “and pray.’’

Follow Nightengale on Twitter and Facebook

GALLERY: Cubs, Giants clash in NLDS