Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer takes his love of long toss to the extreme in Kansas City,
Frustrated Cleveland starter heaves ball over wall in centre before getting hook in K.C.
KANSAS CITY, MO.— Back in the clubhouse, Trevor Bauer calmly read from a prepared statement and profusely apologized. It was quite the contrast from his emotional outburst earlier in the game.
In a startling scene, Bauer suddenly heaved the ball from just past the mound over the centre-field wall while being taken out of the game Sunday in the Cleveland Indians’ 9-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
“I’m an intense competitor and that fire is what drives me,” Bauer read before answering questions. “Today it completely consumed me and took over. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for how I behaved. It won’t happen again.”
It was not clear at the time whether Bauer was upset about his performance or that manager Terry Francona was pulling him. An all-star last year, Bauer had just allowed a two-run single to Nicky Lopez that gave the Royals a 7-5 lead with one out in the fifth inning. When Francona emerged from the dugout, Bauer turned, took a couple steps and fired the ball over the 410-foot mark.
“Nothing really broke my way,” Bauer said. “Even when I felt like I executed good pitches, they were capped off the end of the bat. So, the frustration built up.
“Right now, I’m just focused on the negative impact I’ve had on our culture, and our team and organization, and trying to make reparations to the people in this clubhouse and in our organization. We’ll handle whatever else comes down the line from there.”
Bauer said he spoke to his teammates, but wasn’t sure how they would take his apology.
“It’s hard to tell right now,” he said. “Everyone’s emotions are high. I just wanted to talk to them, to let them know how I’m feeling and how I feel like I let them down both personally and professionally. Hopefully we can move past that.”
Bauer, whose quirky pre-game routine includes a lot of long toss, put that practice to use as he let fly.
As Francona reached the mound, he and Bauer appeared to exchange words. Francona pointed Bauer toward the dugout, then followed closely behind him. They both disappeared into the tunnel. They later emerged, separate but both fuming.
“That’s just between us,” Francona said about what he told Bauer. “We certainly discussed it, as we should, and he talked to the team. Today was a frustrating day. He did it out of frustration. I don’t ever want to say something that I don’t mean out of frustration.