Trevor Bauer called out for 'disrespectful' celebration by furious new team-mate
Trevor Bauer's start to life in Japan has got off to a frosty start, with a BayStars baseball teammate branding him an "idiot" for his disrespectful sword celebration.
MLB commentator Thom Brennaman issues on-air apology
Trevor Bauer has been slammed by one of his new Yokohama DeNA BayStars teammates for encouraging fans to copy his disrespectful sword strikeout celebration. Bauer, 32, joined the BayStars in March after going unsigned by any MLB teams following allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred suspended Bauer last April after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her in 2021. Bauer says everything that happened between them was consensual. Bauer also wasn’t charged with a crime, with a California judge finding the woman's claims “materially misleading”.
The former Los Angeles Dodgers star was unable to find a new team in MLB even after an arbitrator reduce his 324-game suspension down to 194 games, resulting in a one-year deal being signed with Japanese side BayStars worth £3.2million ($4m). The Dodgers will also pay the remainder of his £18m ($22.5m) salary for 2023.
However, Bauer has been slammed for trying to bring his strikeout celebration from the MLB to Japan by a BayStars team-mate ahead of his potential debut on Wednesday. When Bauer struck out batters in MLB, he would gesture putting a sword into a sheath, which the BayStars shared a video of to encourage fans to follow suit.
From #バウアー 選手������
— 横浜DeNAベイスターズ (@ydb_yokohama) May 1, 2023
奪三振(一部)にあわせて、皆さんと一緒に「#SWORDセレブレーション」!!������������
Let's do "SWORD Celebration" together in Yokohama Stadium !⚔️#刀ポーズ #横浜スタジアム#baystars @BauerOutage pic.twitter.com/CCKwr2f9KB
Yokohama's closer Yasuaki Yamasaki has taken issue to the celebration, saying it lacks “respect”, and branded Bauer an “idiot”. “Don't be an idiot. That is disrespectful. There are better ways to go about this,” a tweet translation reads.
Bauer pitched his first game in nearly two years on Sunday, competing in a minor league game for the BayStars. The American allowed just four hits, no runs and struck out six in four innings in front 2,600 fans.
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“I thought the day went really well,” Bauer said. “The stuff was good, the command was good. The health was good. I feel like I´m ready to compete now, but I have to build my pitch count.”
After his return, Bauer expects to make his full Japanese baseball debut soon, with Wednesday’s game seeing the BayStars face off against the Horoshima Toyo Carp. Hiroshima won Tuesday’s meeting 6-1.