Trevor Bauer’s signature strikeout celebration is causing some stirs with a teammate on his Japanese team, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
When Bauer has struck out batters in MLB, he has been seen doing a motion where he appears to put a sword in a sheath.
He’s also done so in his games overseas thus far.
Well, ahead of his first NPB start that’s scheduled for Wednesday, the BayStars posted a short video of Bauer encouraging the fans to do the same when he strikes hitters out during his starts, and Yokohama’s closer Yasuaki Yamasaki isn’t a fan.
He responded underneath the tweet from the official BayStars Twitter page.
“Don’t be an idiot. That is disrespectful. There are better ways to go about this,” the tweet translated.
Bauer signed a one-year deal with Yokohama after he was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers after serving a suspension for sexual assault allegations.
Despite being shunned by Major League Baseball, fans were spotted with his BayStars jersey in his first minor league start.
He’s made two starts since as he ramped up in what’s considered his spring training before getting into a pro game. He owns a 2.25 ERA over 16 innings with 14 hits allowed and four earned runs.
Bauer also has not allowed a home run.
“It’s just about building pitch count right now, making sure that I can pitch a whole game if need be,” Bauer said after his first start.
Bauer has remained steadfast that all actions with his accuser were consensual and he is innocent.
The Dodgers released a statement regarding Bauer after his release.
“Two extensive reviews of all the available evidence in this case – one by [MLB] Commissioner [Rob] Manfred and another by a neutral arbitrator – concluded that Mr. Bauer’s actions warranted the longest-ever active player suspension in our sport for violations of this policy. Now that this process has been completed, and after careful consideration, we have decided that he will no longer be part of our organization,” the team said in a statement in February.
Bauer was hit with a 324-game suspension, the equivalent of two full seasons, that was then reduced to 194.
BayStars manager Daisuke Miura announced Bauer will start the club’s Central League game against the Hiroshima Carp on Wednesday.