Trevor Bauer of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars had his Major League Baseball career cut short after the 2021 season. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met on social media. Bauer was eventually cleared due to insufficient evidence, and although he was successful in getting his 324-game suspension reduced to 194 games, the Los Angeles Dodgers cut ties with him. No other teams expressed interest in Bauer.
Hoping to continue his career, Bauer turned his attention to Asia, where he signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Yokohama DeNA Basestars. The news of the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner’s arrival was met with excitement in the Japanese archipelago.
Injuries delayed his first-team debut, but the excitement was palpable as Bauer threw more pitches in the second team and regained his feel for the game 메이저놀이터 . Fans traveled to the ballpark in droves to watch him pitch, and the online streams had more than 70,000 concurrent users, and the excitement was palpable until he pitched seven innings, striking out nine and allowing one run (one earned) in his debut against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
But the excitement quickly faded. Bauer’s struggles continued. After giving up seven runs (six earned) in six innings against the Yomiuri Giants on April 9, Bauer was given a “lesson” by Hiroshima on April 16. Bauer gave up seven runs (seven earned) on a whopping eight hits (one home run) in two innings.
After the game, Bauer told local media, “Physically, I was in the best shape I’ve been in all season. My control was good, but the two doubles and the home run came off the ball. In that sense, I was a little unlucky.” However, manager Daisuke Miura said, “It wasn’t all about speed,” and Bauer was sent down to the second team.
His outing in the second team wasn’t bad. Against the Chiba Rodeo Marines on April 21, Bauer got off to a shaky start when he gave up a leadoff home run, but his best work came in his sixth inning, when he threw 97 pitches, gave up eight hits (one home run), struck out 10, and walked one. With the adjustments made, Bauer is expected to return to the first team soon.
“Will Bauer show his true colors this time around, or will his reputation remain unprecedented?” asked Japan’s Tokyo Sports on March 23, noting that Bauer was slightly taken aback when asked after the game if he was conscious of being criticized by manager Miura for his ‘high ball’.
“I was told it was high, and I threw it high with intent,” Bauer said, according to the media outlet. Today, I wasn’t focused on throwing low, but I was happy with the ball I threw low,” he said, adding, “I don’t like quick motion and set positions. I don’t like the quick motion and the set position…I don’t care if they run, they just run.” Tokyo Sports criticized Bauer’s behavior, saying, “You can feel the pride of an active major leaguer in every word.”
While Bauer hasn’t lost any of his major league experience while dealing with the media, he has been trying to adapt to Japanese baseball. According to Tokyo Sports, a catcher who worked with Bauer in a second-team game said, “I was told to be more conscious of the low ball than the high ball,” adding, “I was conscious of the low, low. I signed more than usual, such as the course and pitch type.”
Tokyo Sports criticized Bauer’s attitude toward the media, but praised his behind-the-scenes efforts, saying, “Although he doesn’t say so himself, he seems to be borrowing knowledge from Japanese players and going through many trials and errors to understand and adapt to Japanese baseball.”