MLB Cy Young → Accused of Sexual Assault → Sinking on stage in Japan… Bauer’s excuse? “I was really unlucky”

Trevor Bauer (32‧ Yokohama), who shines in the 2020 National League Cy Young Award, is struggling greatly on the Japanese stage, which he pointed out as a springboard for his comeback. He has only played 3 games, but his performance is at a level where he needs to go to the 2nd team right away. Still, Bauer doesn’t seem to care much.

Bauer started the game먹튀검증 against Hiroshima held at Yokohama Stadium on the 16th, but was knocked out early after showing the worst performance of 8 hits (1 home run) and 7 runs in 2 innings. He needed to throw a whopping 69 balls to catch 6 out counts. Bauer had never experienced such sluggishness in the major leagues.

The atmosphere in the stadium cooled down due to Bauer’s hunting, which no one expected. Afterwards, the bullpen struggled, and the team batting line pursued until the end, but eventually lost 5-7 and Bauer suffered his second loss of the season.

It may be so if it is about pitching in one game, but it is already the second hunting. In the match against Yomiuri on the 9th, which was the previous appearance, Bauer allowed 7 runs (6 earned runs) while getting 11 hits, including 3 home runs, in 6 innings. He is more than 7 runs in two consecutive games. His season average earned run average rose to 8.40. Considering the value of Bauer’s name and the club’s investment (400 million yen, about 4 billion won), this is a disappointing result.

The fastball’s highest velocity was not bad, reaching 157 km/h. In the first inning, a fast ball of 155 to 156 km came out. This is not much different from Bauer’s heyday. However, the pitching did not go well. He had a high ball overall. It was the same for both the fastball and the breaking ball. Moreover, Hiroshima was the opposing team at the time of Bauer’s debut in Japan on the 3rd. I experienced Bauer once. This time he came out thoroughly prepared.

Hiroshima hitters connected the ball on the high course with a long hit as if they knew Bauer’s ball. Bauer also seemed greatly embarrassed, but in a situation where he could not catch the ball, he gave up 4 runs in the 1st inning and 3 runs in the 2nd inning and went down the mound. Looking at the game, it was an atmosphere that would give more points if left alone. Daisuke Miura, coach of Yokohama, said after the game, “It was clearly being grasped. There must be something,” and worried, “We have to take measures in the future.”

▲ Bauer protested that there was no problem with his body and that bad luck was just overlapping. ⓒ Kyodo News

Bauer, the party involved, blamed ‘bad luck’. “I think it was really, really unlucky,” Bauer said. “After two strikes, the batting average was usually around 0.180. But now it’s up to 0.700.” It’s good to catch 2S, but bad luck has been overlapping since then. Bauer added, “It’s hard to get good results if all the balls that fall into the fair area are hits.”

Usually, the hit rate in the 2S situation tends to go down. It is usually the pitcher’s count. However, Bauer emphasized that this number was abnormally high and that the in-play batting average (BABIP) was also higher than he thought. In other words, he thinks that there is no big problem with his current condition, but his current grades are coming out due to overlapping bad luck. However, you need to prove yourself whether it is bad luck or skill.

Bauer, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2020 and received a special treatment enough to sign a three-year, $120 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021, was caught up in sexual assault charges against women and received a major league disciplinary measure. He was taken off the line during the 2021 season, and could not play a single game in 2022 due to disciplinary action. The Dodgers let go of Bauer while taking all of his remaining salary. He was concerned about ruining the club’s image.

Other teams didn’t want Bauer for similar reasons to the Dodgers. With no place to play, Bauer chose the Japanese stage as a desperate measure. His money wasn’t a big deal, and his idea was to make a comeback on the stage next to the US.

As a 32-year-old pitcher with a career in the Major League Cy Young Award went to Japan, it was only natural that it would attract a lot of attention. Right away, the media and fans followed like a cloud. Bauer also expressed his satisfaction and confidence in living in Japan at the same time. However, that confidence is being thoroughly broken on the mound.

Bauer has not been able to go to practice due to discipline for more than a year and a half from mid-2021. Even if he trains steadily in the middle, it is not easy for him to fill the gap of a year and a half. If there are no problems with his body, he may be able to expect better performance. However, if he doesn’t rebound, he may not have a team to look for in Japan as well as the US.