Former Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer has been out of Major League Baseball since 2021, but he's still setting records on the mound.
While pitching for Diablos Rojos of the Mexican Baseball League, Bauer set the LMB record for strikeouts in a game when his punched out 19 batters in the Diablos Rojos’ 6-1 win over the Guerreros de Oaxaca on Friday:
Bauer already holds the Mexican record for the most consecutive strikeouts, whiffing nine batters 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 scattered five hits and allowed a sole run in 8.2 innings worked.
Bauer played last season in Japan, where he posted a 2.76 ERA with 130 strikeouts in 130.2 innings pitched, winning the June MVP award, before moving to the Mexican Baseball League 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 expanded, and Trevor Bauer has become a dominant force in Mexico – holding a perfect 8-0 record.
Will Trevor Bauer return to Major League Baseball?
Bauer is hoping to get back into Major League Baseball after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed him to a lucrative deal before the 2021 season.
That same year, Bauer was suspended for 324 games following allegations of sexual misconduct. The suspension was then reduced to 194 games, but no team has signed him since.
Although the criminal charges were eventually dropped, MLB extended his suspension, which kept him out of action for nearly two full seasons. The fallout from these allegations has had a profound impact on Bauer's career and reputation.
Famed baseball statistician and historian Bill James recently shared his perspective on Bauer's situation on Twitter, suggesting that Major League Baseball could be at risk of a major lawsuit if they do not encourage teams to sign Bauer.
“MLB may now be in a position where, if they don't actively encourage someone to sign Trevor Bauer, they could be setting themselves up to lose a billion-dollar lawsuit” James shared on social media. He elaborated, stating that Bauer could argue he lost millions of dollars of income due to a rrushed and flawed investigation, for which MLB bears a large brunt of the responsibility. James urged the league to act immediately in order to mitigate this potential risk.
Bauer himself has been vocal about his frustration with the ongoing situation. In response to a tweet from a sports complex asking for his thoughts, Bauer wrote, “I’d really prefer not to go this route but if I continue being kept out of baseball as I currently am I may have no other choice. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that and I’m allowed to return to my career that was taken from me over provably false allegations that never held any merit to begin with.”
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