There was absolutely no way this would ever happen. How in the world did this happen?
The starting centerfielders in the All-Star Game (assuming no injuries) were once traded for each other. OK, that’s a little weird.
But when they were traded, one played shortstop. OK, weirder.
And then after the trade, the shortstop became one of the worst hitters in baseball a year later and stayed that way for three seasons. Yep, definitely weird.
And now here we are, 2025, and the National League will start Cubs young star Pete Crow-Armstrong in centerfield while the American League will start Tigers infield-convert Javier Baez in centerfield.
The trade sent PCA from the Mets to the Cubs in exchange for Baez as the Mets made a championship push.
Baez ended up with a big free agent contract in Detroit and then was absolutely miserable for a couple seasons.
MORE: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Cal Raleigh combine to make MLB history
He’s only in the outfield this season because it was the only spot he had a chance to add value while Detroit had injuries, but no one expected a renaissance at the plate.
Meanwhile, the glove-wizard Crow-Armstrong didn’t hit great in his MLB debut last season, but he’s turned into one of the most dangerous hitters in the NL this season in addition to his defensive mastery.
It’s just a wild turn of events.
You can’t predict baseball, and this is as good an example as any.
MORE MLB NEWS:
