Trevor Bauer, who was shunned by the major leagues and advanced to Nippon Professional Baseball, continued to show good results in his 2nd appearance in the 2nd team game.
Bauer started on the 22nd against the Rakuten 2nd team메이저놀이터 in the Eastern League and recorded 2 hits, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks and 1 run in 5 innings. Bauer continued scoreless until the 5th inning, and in the 6th inning, he sent out 2 runners and was replaced in the crisis of 1st and 2nd base. After that, the relief pitcher allowed a timely hit and scored 1 run.
Japan’s Nikkan Sports said, “Bauer’s highest speed was 149 km on the electronic board and 154 km on the club’s measurement.”
Bauer, who threw 77 pitches that day, said, “Today’s plan was 75 pitches. He achieved his goal. He needs to increase his pitch count. If necessary, we have to be prepared to throw 9 innings.”
Bauer recorded 4 hits and no runs in 4 innings in a match against the Seibu 2nd Army on the 16th. “He is adjusting his condition in the second group. The future first team debut is still undecided. ESPN, an American media, predicted Bauer’s debut in early May. After the game, Bauer said, “It was good. It was not great. The fastball was faster than the previous game
. “It didn’t come out, but the ball was fine. The cutter was especially good today. The slider and curve ball were overall good.”
According to the Japanese media, Bauer said that there was a scene in which he was concerned about the unique soft mound of the local stadium in the middle of the game. “There was a big hole,” Bauer said. It didn’t bother me that much,” he said. He felt a slight difference from the hard mound of the United States.
In July 2021, when he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bauer was placed on administrative leave by the Major League Secretariat after being accused of sexual assault. Later, in April 2022, the Major League Secretariat issued a 324-game suspension to Bauer.
Bauer, who took a break from the entire 2022 season, appealed the disciplinary action of the Secretariat, and the disciplinary action was reduced with a suspension of 194 games at the end of last year. He was allowed to play from the end of May this season, but the Dodgers released Bauer last January, paying $22.5 million in his remaining annual salary.
When all 30 major league clubs turned away, Bauer chose to go to Japan and signed a one-year, $4 million contract with Yokohama in mid-March.