Trevor Bauer calls out MLB for allowing only home team's families at wild-card games
Pitcher Trevor Bauer has the Cincinnati Reds in the playoffs for the first time in seven years, but he’s not exactly pleased with the crowd setup for the wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves.
MLB will begin its expanded postseason this week. Though most of the playoffs will be played at bubble sites in Texas and California, the best-of-three wild-card matchups will be played at the home stadiums of the better seed.
MLB reached an agreement with the players to allow family members at the bubble sites (after a seven-day quarantine that many have already started) in Arlington, Houston, San Diego and Los Angeles. However, in an effort to cut down on family travel, only family members of the home team will be at the wild-card games before the postseason moves to bubbles for the Division Series and beyond.
Bauer has a problem with that.
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The Reds ace and Game 1 starter took to Twitter and lashed out at the MLB policy, framing it as a rule that made no sense. But again, there was a reason behind it. To be part of MLB’s bubble, families need to quarantine — the added travel would complicate that.
For financial reasons, the league is doing all it can to not let the coronavirus pandemic jeopardize the postseason. So, the risk involved of having family members travel from Cincinnati to Atlanta to the bubble site was not something MLB was willing to entertain.
And the simple response was right there in Bauer’s tweet: If the Reds wanted to play the first round in front of their families, they should have won more games.
Plus, let’s not overlook the added motivation of being able to beat another team exclusively in front of that opponent’s families. You’d have to take satisfaction in that.
The Red and Braves will open their series on Wednesday at noon ET.