18 reasons Javy Baez is better than your favorite player

For fans of eight teams (and, for a quick minute early on, ten) the postseason is the best part of the baseball calendar. The players you’ve grown attached to throughout the regular season get to shine, and maybe even some late August call ups get to be the heroes of a tight series and be forever beloved by the fan base.

It’s a chance for electric personalities, talented players, and unlikely stars truly emerge. So for every playoff team, we’re picking one of the most exciting players to watch and explaining why we love them so much. Here’s why we love Javy Baez.

1. Because he’s not afraid to possibly jinx a catch by doing the chef’s kiss motion.

2. His nickname is El Mago. Which is amazing.

3. This El Mago charity shirt is also amazing.

4. He’s likes to take pictures in his spare time. Or not in his spare time.

5. He takes glove decisions very seriously.

6. Even though he’s from Puerto Rico, he’s just fine playing in the snow.

7. He and his girlfriend had the cutest baseball-themed baby announcement.

8. Javy’s real name is Ednal. He’s much more of a Javy.

9. His bat never sleeps.

10. He and his two brothers have a tattoo of the MLB logo on the back of their necks “as a sign of respect and love for the game.”

11. He also has a tattoo of his mom’s name with a rose, because she dislikes tattoos and he knew she couldn’t be mad at one of her name. Javy is smart.

12. He can make tags like this.

13. And avoid tags like this.

14. Or like this.

15. Javy can also out-Puig Puig. Aw, these two.

16. He was the first player to steal home in a postseason game for the Cubs since 1907. (In the 2016 NLCS, for which he was the co-MVP with Jon Lester.) That takes balls.

17. His smile looks like this.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

18. He can wink. (I can’t wink. I think winking is cool.)