LAKELAND, FL – Listen, I’m not trying to stir the pot, so to speak.
But let me be clear: It’s absolutely stupid that Javier Báez can’t play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic because of a positive test for marijuana use more than two years ago.
It is ridiculous on all kinds of levels.
Báez plays for the Detroit Tigers, a team based in Michigan, where marijuana is legal. He plays in MLB, a league that agreed with its players to stop testing for weed in December 2019. And right now, he’s in spring training in Lakeland, Florida, a city that seems to have a marijuana dispensary on every corner.
But the high and mighty World Baseball Softball Confederation – apparently, not high enough, and still stuck in the 1920s – decided to ban him because of an archaic rule.
What’s next? Testing guys for drinking a beer?
Báez, for his part, made no excuses on Tuesday, Feb. 17. It is a rule – even if it’s a stupid rule – and he broke it. He accepted his fate with dignity and grace. One could say he took the high road … but I’m not gonna go there.
“Honestly, I don’t want to point fingers at anybody, because this is all my fault,” he said Tuesday. “I’m the one that failed the test and the rules over there.”
To add insult to injury and make missing the WBC even more painful, one bracket of pool play is being played in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In Báez’s home country.
“It hurts,” he said. “It really frustrates me.”
For good reason.
“It’s been a long, long time since we played this tournament in Puerto Rico,” said Báez, who was born there. “I think it was 2006 and I was in the stands as a fan, and I have my cousin pitching against Dominican, I think. And you know, to have the chance to be part of that, and now it’s away from me.”
What’s that smell? The timing
Now, let me offer some context that reeks of skunk weed.
Báez tested positive in an exam conducted March 12, 2023, during the 2023 WBC.
As a result of the positive test, Báez received a two-year period of ineligibility – April 26, 2024-April 26, 2026 – from World Baseball Softball Confederation, which runs the WBC.
Take another look at those dates again.
Even though he tested positive in 2023, his suspension didn’t take effect until 2024, timed perfectly to magically mess up the 2026 WBC, which runs from March 5-17.
The suspension ends April 26 – oh, gee, thanks for that: The WBC will be done by then.
Yes, it’s time to raise a skeptical eyebrow here.
“I don’t know if they didn’t want me in the in the WBC or whatever, but it just really frustrating that I won’t be able to be there,” he said.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should admit I have partaken in the wacky tobacky – at least in edible form. I’m far from impartial on this topic.
A few years ago, while suffering from incredible nerve pain, it was the only thing that helped me sleep before I underwent spinal fusion surgery. I wrote a column about it and continue to get emails about it. The big thing I learned: There are so many people who are suffering and in pain. So many who have turned to it for relief. Even those, like me, who once had a negative view of weed. But I’ve changed and have a new view.
So, while some might have a problem with marijuana, I don’t. I admit that.
Which probably clouds my perspective on this – so to speak.
No impact on season
So, let’s get back to what truly matters: What does this mean for his future with the Tigers?
Absolutely nothing.
Nor should it.
He didn’t break any MLB rules. Didn’t even break the law in Michigan.
So, he’s getting ready for the season.
“We got a really good team, young team, and with other additions that we did this year, you know, I think we’re going to be in a really good spot to go even farther than last year,” he said.
Báez has been nothing short of a fantastic teammate in Detroit. He has been incredibly unselfish, willing to move from short to center field, where he was outstanding enough to earn a starting spot in the All-Star Game from MLB’s fanbase.
The last few years have been wild for Báez .
He went through season-ending hip surgery in 2024, but bounced back with that All-Star season in 2025.
Even if he faded at the end.
“After the first half, I got a little tired from the surgery,” he said. “I kept playing. Once we got to the playoffs you know, the emotions and the energy obviously went up, and, you know, I went through it. But after the season was over, I got my rest. And you know, we kept working with the same plan and attacking the surgery, the rehab stuff, and it’s been, it’s been really good. I feel really good right now. It hasn’t bothered me.”
So, who is served by serving this suspension?
Nobody.
“It really hurts my family, my reputation,” he said.
Personally, I don’t feel his family should be embarrassed, nor should this impact his reputation.
All the embarrassment should land on the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
Not to be blunt, here, but it’s high time for this ridiculous, archaic rule to go up in smoke.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Time for rule that cost Javier Báez his WBC stint to go up in smoke
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
