Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – Trevor Bauer didn’t apologize for his comments about the arbitration process, but he did meet with the media to clear the air.
“It was not the Indians or their representatives that presented that information – it was presented by the labor relations department,” Bauer said. “I thought the decision to end the rebuttal period with the intent behind it that I would characterize was to demean my character and present things that I’ve said in a way that is disingenuous was a bad play.”
Although Bauer won his arbitration hearing and will make $13 million this season, he told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that lawyers said some pretty harsh things about him and his ‘69 Days of Giving’ campaign.
Bauer attended the hearing, which is rare. He has an interest in the process, but it isn’t shocking that the labor relations department mentioned his social media use during the hearing.
“I enjoy argumentation, in the classic sense,” Bauer said. “I enjoy intellectual chess matches. It happens on Twitter too. People think that I’m emotional when I’m tweeting something, but it’s always just like a chess match or a battle of wit. That’s why I enjoy the arbitration process so much because you can look at one season and make it seem like it was worth this or that, and do both very convincingly. It’s interesting to me.”
Bauer has a unique personality, which is fine. He’s an extremely talented pitcher, but it’s hard to believe he was surprised by comments made in the hearing. Of course the labor relations department was going to mention his behavior on social media. It's no secret that Bauer can be confrontational on social media. If fans know it and discuss it, why wouldn't league representatives use it to their benefit? Their job is to win. It doesn’t matter if the Indians made the comments or not.
Do you think Chris Antonetti or Terry Francona wanted to discuss anything other than baseball today? They had to answer questions about Bauer, his contract and his comments about the arbitration process.
The 28-year-old is still in his prime, which makes issues like this worth dealing with. Professional organizations hate distractions, especially when they’re coming from an average player. Bauer may want to think about that, especially since he plans on signing one-year contracts his entire career. His outspoken personality hasn’t hurt his bank account yet, but that’ll change if he isn’t careful.
