Trevor Bauer Makes Debut In Japanese Baseball League, Draws Large Crowd

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Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer debuted in Japan on Sunday. Bauer never pitched in Major League Baseball again after sexual assault allegations were levied against him.

MLB suspended him for two years and he last pitched in June of 2021. However, Bauer did not face criminal charges stemming from the allegations and has continued to maintain that everything that occurred was consensual.

He won an appeal of the suspension and the league reinstated him in December. He ultimately served 194 games.

Trevor Bauer last pitched in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on June 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.

Trevor Bauer last pitched in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on June 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Despite the lifted suspension, the Los Angeles Dodgers released Trevor Bauer in January.

However, no MLB team signed him this offseason. So he took off to Japan to continue his baseball career. In March, the 2020 National League CY Young winner signed a deal with Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan.

Bauer debuted with Yokohama DeNA's minor league club on Sunday.

According to the Associated Press, Trevor Bauer "allowed four hits, no runs and struck out six in four innings before 2,600 fans.The minor-league park usually draws a few hundred spectators. The team said live streaming views reached 77,000 — 15 times the usual 5,000."

Yokohama DeNA BayStars pitcher Trevor Bauer poses in his new uniform during a news conference in Yokohama. (Photo credit: KYODO NEWS)

“I thought the day went really well,” Bauer told the AP. “The stuff was good, the command was good. The health was good. I feel like I’m ready to compete now, but I have to build my pitch count.

"I’ve stayed ready. I didn’t feel like I’d been away at all. The game came to me well. It didn’t speed up on me. I commanded the ball. There really wasn’t any adjustment. Just competitive baseball instead of throwing to hitters in a cage.”

Trevor Bauer is expected to make at least one more start in the minor league before moving on to the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.