MLB
Trevor Bauer sets Mexican League single-game strikeout record
The 2020 Cy Young winner has been making it hard to ignore his case for returning to the Show, notching up another record in the Mexican League.
Trevor Bauer has been an incredible font of news for several years now. He started off his career in the time-honored tradition of a guy who was broadly disliked, especially by his own team mates, but who had a talent that was so stellar that the juice was worth the squeeze.
All of that came to a crashing halt when he was accused by three different women of sexual assault. MLB handed down the longest suspension in baseball history, effectively shutting Bauer out of the game for at least two full seasons. The Dodgers let him go and it looked like his career was over.
The accusations against him fell apart, one by one, and suddenly the league and Bauer were in uncharted territory. He is clearly good enough to play in the Show, and has no criminal record of any kind. When compared to other players who have had multiple chances, multiple opportunities to earn their way back, Bauer, oddly, remains persona non grata.
He played last season in Japan, where he posted a 2.76 ERA with 130 strikeouts in 130.2 innings pitched, winning June MVP award, before moving to the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) with a five-game deal to play for the Diablos Rojos. His first game with them was an exhibition against the New York Yankees, where Bauer threw three shutout innings.
That five-game deal grew and he has become a dominant force in Mexico, with an impeccable 8-0 record. Bauer already holds the Mexican record for the most consecutive strikeouts, sitting down nine in a row, and now he has raised the bar. In the Diablos Rojos’ 6-1 win over the Guerreros de Oaxaca, Bauer struck out 19 batters, a new record for a single game. Just one out shy of a complete game, Bauer surrendered five hits and one run in 8.2 innings worked.
Coming back to MLB is Bauer’s stated aim, but until then, you might want to grab a quick flight down to Mexico to check him out. His next two confirmed outings are June 28 against the Leones de Yucatán and July 5 against the Tigres de Quintana Roo, both played in Mexico City’s Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium.