From being an MLB star with a $102 million contract to getting suspended for 324 games without pay, Trevor Bauer’s career as a famous baseball pitcher went through a major downward spiral in a span of a few months.
Given his illustrious baseball career and a long-held winning streak, a number of MLB teams were eager to nab Bauer back in 2021. He rejected many offers before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-year contract in February 2021. At the time, those in place to manage the reputation of MLB were aware of Bauer’s dodgy history, which included online harassment allegations by two women (of which, one was “obsessed” with Bauer according to him). But if he could assure their victory in matches, they were willing to overlook it. And he did get the team the wins they expected from him and for a while, the Dodgers was confident it could contain the fallback from his controversial social media and in-person reputation.
“They were wrong” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
By July 2021, ignoring the situation became impossible after another woman came forward with allegations of sexual assault against Bauer post which he was put on an administrative leave of seven days by MLB as they conducted their own “ongoing investigation concurrent with the Pasadena Police Department’s active criminal investigation” (via AP News). But nothing was solved in the seven days and the leave was continuously extended on a weekly basis until it was decided to include what remained of the 2021 season in the leave.
By April 2022, the MLB’s investigation was over and Bauer’s fate was decided
“Today we were informed that MLB has concluded its investigation into allegations that have been made against Trevor Bauer, and the Commissioner has issued his decision regarding discipline. The Dodgers organization takes all allegations of this nature very seriously and does not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence or sexual assault.”
The decision in question included suspension from two full seasons i.e., 324 games without pay. For Mets president, Sandy Alderson, it was a bullet dodged (via USA Today) since his team was one of the many offers Bauer rejected to join the Dodgers.
“We thought he would help our team. We understood what the risks were associated with some of the social media stuff. We actually had discussions internally with group or groups in our organization to talk about that, including women. And so I was happy with where we ended up, and he made a choice. And now maybe I’m even happier with where we ended up, given the fact that we were able to add someone like Taijuan Walker and others.”
Bauer, who had denied the allegations from the beginning, appealed against the punishment – the longest ever for the violation of the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. While his appeal did aid in lessening the suspension from 324 to 194 games and would have allowed him to resume his career with the Dodgers at the beginning of a new season, the team decided to cut ties with him.
Eventually, Bauer would go on to join BayStars for a $4 million contract and then switch to Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League (in 2024). By late 2023, the legal dispute with one of the first women who accused Bauer was settled outside court, with the baseball player’s lawyers stressing that it didn’t involve any monetary exchange.
As of 2024, another woman who accused the pitcher of sexual assault that resulted in a pregnancy (and followed by a miscarriage) was charged with felony fraud and theft by extortion (via AP News) in April. Following this development, Bauer released a video statement, demanding to know what he can do next to prove that the allegations against him have all been one “massive lie.”
Bauer now wants a chance to return to the Major League Baseball. In a chat with Fox News early in 2024, he admitted that he treated the opportunity to be a part of a major elite team with recklessness.
“I made mistakes. I agreed to do things I shouldn’t have done. I was reckless. It hurt a lot of people along the way. I made things very difficult for Major League Baseball, for the Dodgers, my teammates, my friends, family, people close to me. So, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on that and made a lot of changes in my life to address that. I’m not having casual sexual relationships anymore, for example.”
What Bauer wants now is a second opportunity to “do things better.” But will he get it?