Shunned by major league clubs, Trevor Bauer is trying to find his way in Japan, where fans are drawn by his near celebrity status and seem unconcerned by domestic violence allegations against him. The 2020 Cy Young Award winner and former Los Angeles Dodger pitched his first competitive game in almost two years on Sunday and said he's almost ready to debut in Japanese baseball after being turned away by Major League Baseball. Pitching for the Yokohama BayStars minor league team in Yokosuka—best known as the home of the US Seventh Fleet—he allowed four hits, no runs, and struck out six in four innings before 2,600 fans, the AP reports.
The minor-league park usually draws a few hundred spectators. The team said live streaming views reached 77,000—15 times the usual 5,000. "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." Bauer said he was not sure when he'd be ready to start for the big club. He seems likely to get another minor league start before moving up. Despite not pitching in a competitive game since 2021, he said it all felt familiar. "I've stayed ready," he said. "I didn't feel like I'd been away at all."
Bauer is in Japan on a one-year deal that could let him prove himself and return to the majors, where he was unable to find work this season even after an arbitrator reduced his unprecedented 324-game suspension for violating the league's domestic violence and sexual assault policy. Commissioner Rob Manfred suspended Bauer last April after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her in 2021. Bauer maintains he did nothing wrong, and he was not charged with a crime. Fans in Japan don't seem bothered by the accusations. Hundreds lined up outside the stadium after he pitched, hoping for a glimpse or an autograph. Dozens wore his BayStars jersey with his No. 96—chosen because his goal for average fastball velocity is 96 mph.
(More
Trevor Bauer stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
