Trevor Bauer Made His Bed And Now He Has To Lie In It
Trevor Bauer was selected third overall in the 2011 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of UCLA, and made his MLB debut the following June. He started four games for Arizona in 2012, going 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA.
After clashing with his teammates in the desert, the team traded him (along with Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers) to Cleveland in return for Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Donald, Tony Sipp, and Lars Anderson. Bauer began 2013 at Triple-A Columbus, starting 22 games and going 6-7 with a 4.15 ERA before being called up to the big club. In four MLB games, Bauer essentially matched his 2012 season, going 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA.
2014 saw him again on the farm, but he was down there for only a short while (2.15 ERA). Once in Cleveland, he started 26 games, going 5-8 with a 4.18 ERA.
Bauer’s 2015 and 2016 seasons were remarkably similar (11-12, 4.55 ERA, 4.33 FIP / 12-8, 4.26 ERA, 3.99 FIP) as he settled in as an everyday pitcher in Terry Francona’s rotation.
In 2017, Bauer took a leap. He went 17-9, threw 176-1/3 innings, and struck out 196 batters while walking only 60. That season was worth 2.9 bWAR.
In 2018, he upped his game even more, going 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA and a 2.44 FIP. He pitched 175-1/3 innings and struck out 221 against just 57 walks. With 6.0 bWAR, he made the All-Star team, finished 6th in Cy Young Award voting, and got MVP consideration. At this point, Bauer was on his way to becoming somewhat of an “ace,” a moniker he had desired since college.
Bauer’s 2019 season started well enough, opening with a 4-1 record through his first seven starts. Then he lost five straight while sprinkling in three no-decisions. He followed that with four straight wins and five out of six. On July 23rd, Bauer pitched 7-2/3 innings, struck out nine while wielding just three hits and no runs. He left the game with a 1-0 lead, just to watch Brad Hand gave up a game-tying homer to Justin Smoak with one out in the bottom of the ninth. And then he had to endure Tyler Olson coming into the game in the bottom of the 10th and going walk, wild pitch, single, and walk-off single (Smoak, again) to give the Blue Jays the 2-1 win.
That was the backdrop as Bauer headed into his next start, a Sunday afternoon game in Kansas City on July 28th.
Staked to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, Bauer started his outing by giving up hits to three of the first four Royals batters, but escaped surrendering just one run.
In the third inning, he gave up a leadoff single, followed by a walk, and then a wild pitch. A ground ball to first should have meant just one run, but first baseman Jake Bauers’ errant throw allowed Hunter Dozier to score to tie the game.
Cleveland retook the lead in the top of the fourth, and Bauer bounced back with a 10-pitch inning in the bottom half. Danny Duffy led off the top of the fifth with a home run, giving Bauer a two-run lead to work with.
Bauer, with a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the fifth, gave up a leadoff single to Alex Gordon. Brian Dozier then lofted a fly ball to center field that Óscar Mercado lost in the sun, allowing it to drop on the warning track and bounce over the fence for an automatic double. Jorge Soler then walked on a very close 3-2 pitch (probably overturned in the ABS era) to load the bases. Ryan O’Hearn then hit a dribbler in front of the mound that Bauer couldn’t field, allowing a run to score (it was ruled a hit). Cheslor Cuthbert then hit a duck-fart (60.6-mph off the bat) into right field over the outstretched arm of second baseman Mike Freeman, which knocked in the tying run. After striking out Bubba Starling for the first out of the inning, Nicky Lopez hit a grounder up the middle that Bauer just barely missed fielding; it ended up in center field, scoring two runs. Bauer got a new ball from the umpire, and immediately rejected it by throwing it to the dugout. When he got a second ball, he noticed manager Terry Francona coming to the mound, so Bauer chucked that ball over the center field fence. When Tito got to the obviously frustrated and pouting pitcher, he asked: “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Bauer put his hand on Francona’s shoulder, ostensibly in apology, and headed for the showers.
After the game, Bauer apologized for his behavior.
“I want to be clear that my frustrations were with myself and my inability to stop the situation and keep my team in the game. I’m an intense competitor. That fire is what drives me. Today, it completely consumed me and took over…It was unbecoming. It was childish. Unprofessional. There’s no place for it in the game.”
MLB fined the pitcher an undisclosed sum, but did not suspend him. However, Cleveland was done with him. Two days after the incident, they traded the immature 28-year-old to Cincinnati as part of a three-team deal (ironically, Francona would later become the Reds’ manager).
Bauer finished the season in Cincinnati, and pitched there in 2020 as well. Before the 2021 season, the Dodgers signed him to a three-year, $102 million contract. MLB placed Bauer on administrative leave in July of that year following sexual assault allegations. In April, 2022, he was suspended for 324 games (ultimately reduced to 194 games on appeal). Los Angeles released him in January, 2023, but not before they paid him roughly $61 million for 17 games and 107-2/3 innings.
Bauer was never criminally charged for the actions that predicated his suspension, and he actually won a civil judgment against his accuser. And yet, no MLB team wanted his services. Was he “blackballed”? It is hard to say.
Since his release by the Dodgers, Bauer has pitched in Japan, Mexico, and now on Long Island. At 35, he clearly still has skills and could be useful to some big league team in need of pitching. But, is he worth the hassle? Interestingly, after Bauer chucked the ball over the fence that day in Kansas City, Francona said the following to the assembled press: “I don’t want this to be his legacy. This kid’s a good pitcher.” What he didn’t say is as important – if not more important – than what he did say.
When Bauer threw a no-hitter for the Ducks, there was no grand celebration on the mound. Teammates, all the way back to college and possibly before, simply do not like Bauer. And organizations, from Arizona to Cleveland to Los Angeles, tire of his act pretty quickly.
If Bauer is anything, he is true to himself, and will not change for anyone or any amount of money. He has no one else to blame for his lot in life, but he does not seem to have the introspection or care for what others think to evolve in any way. And that has cost him his major league career. Hopefully the $112 million he earned over 13 seasons is enough to buy happiness, because it certainly won’t buy a positive or lasting legacy.
PLAY BALL!!
