A Cy Young Young pitcher who crossed the Pacific Ocean as if he was kicked out of the major leagues has risen to the mound for the first time in two years.
Trevor Bauer of the Yokohama Baystars started the match against the Seibu Lions 2nd team held at Yokosuka Stadium in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan on the 16th and pitched 4 hits, 6 strikeouts and no runs in 4 innings, announcing the imminent promotion to the 1st team.
Bauer started against the San Francisco Giants on June 29, 2021, when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and became a winning pitcher with 8 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings, and then had a hiatus until this day. He has been on the mound for the first time in about a year and 10 months.
The number of pitches was 53, and the Japanese media reported that the fastball restraint took a maximum of 155 km.
It is unknown when Bauer will be called up to the first team, but it is said that the club gave a positive evaluation of the pitching content that day. Bauer is expected to make his first team debut after improving his condition on the mound for the second team one more time.
Fans reacted enthusiastically to Bauer’s NPB debut. About 2,600 fans gathered at Yokosuka Stadium that day.
The AP said, “Usually only a few hundred fans visit Japanese minor league stadiums, but on this day, 2,600 people came.” A club official said that 77,000 people watched the live streaming, 15 times more than the usual 5,000 people.
Also, after the game, fans said they realized the popularity, such as asking Bauer for an autograph. Dozens of fans also stood out wearing jerseys with Bauer’s number ’96’ on them, the Associated Press reported.
Bauer said, “I think it worked out well today. The ball was good and the ball was good. My body is healthy. I feel like I can go up to the first team now. But I need to increase the number of pitches.”
Regarding his actual appearance in two years, he said,안전놀이터 “I was always preparing. There was no feeling that I had been away for a long time.” There was no big difference except that I threw it in the real game instead of throwing it to the opponent.”
Bauer was investigated by the prosecution for sexual assault and was not prosecuted, but was suspended from play by the Major League Baseball (MLB) and was unable to play for nearly two years. In the end, after being released from the Dodgers earlier this year, he could not find a new team in the United States and decided to open his second baseball life at NPB Yokohama.
Japanese fans seem to have no objection to Bauer’s sexual assault controversy. The AP said, ‘Bauer is trying to build a new life in Japan. Japanese fans are interested in the fact that he is a celebrity and don’t seem to care much about the domestic violence charges against him. Hundreds of fans flocked to get autographs.”
