Trevor Bauer Talks The Changes He Has Made Over The Years Since Record Suspension, Doesn't Want To Be Painted As A Victim
Trevor Bauer faced the harshest suspension in baseball history. Now, he's fighting to clear his name after accusations of sexual assault and is speaking about it, publicly.
Bauer appeared on Fox News' America's News Room and spoke to host Bill Hemmer about the accusations, his quest to return to Major League Baseball, and how he has changed over the years.
The former Cy Young winner fielded questions about the various accusations he has faced which led to his 194-game suspension. He talked about how he has changed over the years and conceded that he had made mistakes.
However, he said he was doing what he could to learn from them.
"I know that I've made mistakes. That's kind of what I'm trying to focus on. How do I get better from the experiences that I've had?" Bauer said. "I made mistakes in my personal life. I'm really detail-oriented when it comes to baseball and my training but I didn't apply the same level of scrutiny to my personal life."
The Cy Young Winner Said His Actions Hurt Friends, Family, His Team, And The MLB
Bauer admitted that some of those mistakes hurt not only him, but friends, family, his team, and even Major League Baseball entirely.
"I agreed to do things that I shouldn't have done. It was reckless," he said. It hurt a lot of people along the way. I made things very difficult for Major League Baseball, for the Dodgers, my teammates, friends, family people close to me.
"So I've done a lot of reflecting on that and made a lot of changes in my life to address that."
Bauer said one of those personal changes was abstaining from casual sexual relationships, but another had to do with his maturity. Specifically, how he reacted when the media talked about him negatively.
"I made a lot of people in the media mad, I was very immature with how I handled things when people would write things about me that I didn't agree with," he said. "I should have just had a private adult conversation with someone.
Bauer Says Childhood Bullying Led Him To Think Lashing Out Was Standing Up For Himself
The former All-Star said that being bullied as a kid led him to incorrectly believe that lashing out was the same as standing up for himself.
"I was bullied a lot as a kid — and don't really want to get into that — but at the time I viewed my responses on social media as like standing up for myself and having a voice," he said.
Despite this, the 32-year-old made it very clear that he doesn't want to be painted as a victim in this situation.
"No, no, I don't see it in those terms at all. I just tried to reflect accurately on how I be better. What caused me to do the things that I do so I can address those in my life, and handle them in a way that I'm more proud of."
The former Diamondback, Indian, Red, and Dodger spent last season with Japan's Yokohama Bay Stars. He is hoping to return to Major League Baseball. When asked about whether there was a team ready to bring him into the fold, Bauer said discussions are currently happening.
"Well, my agents are having those conversations. We've spoken with a lot of different teams. Free agency is a weird process. It plays out differently every single year. The timing is different every single year. So, we'll see."