Why was Reds' Trevor Bauer tipping his pitches? 'Just having fun'
GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Two days after Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer intentionally tipped his pitches against Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Matt Beaty, Bauer says he was just having fun on the mound.
Bauer signaled which pitch he was throwing – with his glove – to Beaty, the first batter he faced in his three-inning outing Monday at Goodyear Ballpark. Beaty lined out to center field on a fastball.
“It was an inside story that I can’t tell you guys, but just having fun, joking around,” Bauer said Wednesday.
Bauer was outspoken against the Houston Astros when Major League Baseball announced the results of their sign-stealing investigation. Was there a reason he did it against the Dodgers?
“No, it had nothing to do with the Dodgers necessarily,” Bauer said. “It wasn’t, like, team specific. Like I said, it was just joking around and having some fun. I did it, actually, twice last year in the season, something that I’ll probably do at some point again this season. I think there is a lot of interesting outcomes that can come from it psychologically and competitively and stuff. Spring training is a time when you work on things.”
Bauer paused for a few seconds when he was asked if he was trying to make a point by intentionally tipping his pitches Monday before he repeated that he was just “joking around, having fun.”
It drew a lot of attention on social media after Derek Dietrich did an interview with Fox Sports Ohio and said, “If you've followed baseball this offseason, there's a little thing going on with sign-stealing. Trevor's not too fond of it, so he figured he's going to try something new this season. And he's going to start telling the batters what's coming. That way there's no ifs, ands or buts about what's going on.”
Said Bauer: “Derek dumped a bunch of gasoline on that fire, which I thought was pretty funny. Good for baseball overall.”