Connect with us

Published

on

YOKOHAMA, Japan — After cheerleaders welcomed him and after receiving the largest ovation of any Yokohama player at the start of the game, Trevor Bauer delivered what was expected Wednesday in his debut with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars.

Pitching his first game in just over 22 months — the last was with the Los Angeles Dodgers — Bauer scattered seven hits in seven innings, allowed one run, struck out nine and threw 98 pitches in a 4-1 victory against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp before a crowd of 33,202, which the team said was a record.

The highlight might have been Bauer’s batting.

Pitchers still bat in Japan’s Central League, where the designated hitter is not used. Bauer grounded out once and put down a perfect sacrifice bunt in the fifth, which led to Yokohama’s go-ahead run. He also struck out.

The only pitching blemish was a bases-empty home run in the second inning to fellow American Matt Davidson, who played with Bauer with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020.

“My ex-teammate got me,” Bauer said. “I don’t know how far it went. I talked to him before his next at-bat, and I said: ‘Why do you have to do that to me?'”

Bauer’s first game has been long awaited in Yokohama, which has not won the Japanese season championship since 1998. Bauer is expected to deliver with the team now leading the Central League.

“I felt great,” Bauer said. “I just felt normal. The body felt good: command, velocity, results. All good. It was a great day.”

He even tried a few words of Japanese, addressing the fans after the game. Roughly translated, he said: “I win in Yokohama.”

Fans applauded and understood immediately. He said teammates were teaching him.

“I have to make sure they’re not telling me to say something wrong,” Bauer said.

Bauer was asked by Japanese reporters what he was thinking about just before the game. His reply suggested he was feeling some pressure.

“My nose started bleeding,” he said. “That’s what was on my mind coming to the field.”

Yokohama signed Bauer for a reported $4 million, and he is getting millions more in termination pay from the Dodgers.

Billboards all over town announced his arrival, including a seven-story poster that went up Wednesday on the side of a Yokohama department store.

Bauer arrives with a baseball background as the 2020 Cy Young Award winner, while claims of sexual assault and domestic violence have kept him out of Major League Baseball for almost two years.

He was released by the Dodgers this year after an arbitrator reduced his 324-game suspension to 194 games for violating the domestic violence and sexual assault policy of MLB and the players’ association.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred suspended Bauer in April 2022 after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her in 2021. Bauer disputed her claims and said everything that happened between them was consensual.

He was never charged with a crime, and a California judge found the woman’s claims “materially misleading.”

Bauer could have joined any MLB team for this season, but no team signed him.

“The atmosphere in the U.S. doesn’t compare to here at all. The only time it comes anywhere close is sometimes in playoff baseball. I played in a World Series in 2016, and the Cleveland stadium was very loud. But the sustained energy here is just so much different.”

Trevor Bauer, on playing in Japan

Bauer, as he has before, lauded the atmosphere at Japanese stadiums, where there is a constant din of chants, songs and drums beating with fans always participating.

“The atmosphere in the U.S. doesn’t compare to here at all,” Bauer said. “The only time it comes anywhere close is sometimes in playoff baseball. I played in a World Series in 2016, and the Cleveland stadium was very loud. But the sustained energy here is just so much different.”

His debut came after three appearances with Yokohama’s farm clubs, where he had 17 strikeouts in 16 innings with a 2.25 ERA.

Japanese fans have welcomed him, women have not organized to protest his presence, and he is being given the benefit of the doubt. For his part, Bauer is talking up every aspect of playing in Japan.

“I just want to win,” Bauer said. “I want to contribute to that. I want to pitch well. I want to entertain the fans.”

Yokohama fan Shohei Horikawa stood inside Yokohama’s stadium and summed up what many in Japan apparently feel.

“I know he had some issues in the past, but he was not convicted,” Horikawa said, wearing a Bauer No. 96 jersey. “I want him to reset himself in Japan without any prejudice and to do his best.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Utes’ Whittingham reenergized after ’24 free fall

Published

on

By

Utes' Whittingham reenergized after '24 free fall

FRISCO, Texas — A dynamic new quarterback, a new offensive system and two projected first-round picks up front have Utah coach Kyle Whittingham feeling enthusiastic about the Utes’ chances of bouncing back from a disastrous debut season in the Big 12.

Utah was voted No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll last year after joining from the Pac-12, but a brutal run of injuries and inconsistency resulted in a seven-game conference losing streak and a 5-7 finish — the program’s first losing season since 2013.

After weeks of contemplation about his future and what was best for the program, Whittingham, the third-longest-tenured head coach in FBS, decided in December to return for his 21st season with the Utes.

“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note,” Whittingham told ESPN at Big 12 media days Wednesday. “It was too frustrating, too disappointing. As much as college football has changed with all the other factors that might pull you away, that was the overriding reason: That’s not us, that’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”

“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating, too disappointing. … That’s not us. That’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on going 5-7 in 2024

Whittingham and Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley conducted a national search for a new offensive coordinator and quickly zeroed in on New Mexico‘s Jason Beck. Then they managed to land Devon Dampier, Beck’s first-team All-Mountain West quarterback, via the transfer portal.

After finishing 11th nationally in total offense with 3,934 yards and 31 total touchdowns and putting up the fourth-most rushing yards (1,166) among all FBS starters, Dampier followed his coach to Salt Lake City and immediately asserted himself as a difference-maker for a program that had to start four different QBs in 2024.

“He’s a terrific athlete,” Whittingham said. “He’s a guy that, if spring is any indication, he’s an exciting player, and we can’t wait to watch him this season. … He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s a leader. Needless to say, very excited to see what he does for us.”

They’ve surrounded Dampier with 21 more newcomers via the transfer portal and will protect him with two returning starters at tackle in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who are projected first-round NFL draft picks by ESPN’s Matt Miller.

“We feel they’re the best tandem in the country,” Whittingham said. “The offensive line in general, I feel, it’s the best since I’ve been there. And that’s quite a statement. We’ve had some really good offensive lines. We’ve got two first-rounders and three seniors inside that have played a lot of good football for us. That better be a strength of ours, and that’s what we’re counting on.”

Whittingham has previously said he did not want to coach past the age of 65. Now that he’s 65, he acknowledges that he might’ve arrived at a different decision about his future had the Utes ended up winning the Big 12 in 2024. He is reenergized about getting them back into contention, but he’s not ready to say whether this season might be his last.

“The best answer I can give you is, right now, I’m excited and passionate about going to work every single day,” Whittingham said. “As soon as that changes, I’ll know it’s time. I’m just counting on knowing when the time is right. I can’t tell you exactly what the circumstances will be other than losing the fire in the belly.”

Continue Reading

Sports

MLB to utilize ABS challenge system during ASG

Published

on

By

MLB to utilize ABS challenge system during ASG

The automated ball-strike system is coming to the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.

MLB officials added the feature to the annual exhibition game knowing it could be a precursor to becoming a permanent part of the major leagues as soon as next year.

The same process used this past spring training will be used for the Midsummer Classic: Each team will be given two challenges with the ability to retain them if successful. Only a pitcher, catcher or hitter can ask for a challenge and it has to happen almost immediately after the pitch. The player will tap his hat or helmet indicating to the umpire he wants to challenge while any help from the dugout or other players on the field is not allowed.

MLB officials say 72% of fans who were polled during spring training said the impact of ABS on their experience at the game was a “positive” one. Sixty-nine percent said they’d like it part of the game moving forward. Just 10% expressed negativity toward it.

MLB’s competition committee will meet later this summer to determine if ABS will be instituted next season after the league tested the robotic system throughout the minor leagues and spring training in recent years. Like almost any rule change, there were mixed reviews from players about using ABS but nearly all parties agree on one point: They prefer a challenge system as opposed to the technology calling every pitch.

As was the case in spring training, once a review is initiated, an animated replay of the pitch will be shown on the scoreboard and the home plate umpire will either uphold the call or overturn it. ABS uses Hawk-Eye system technology which tracks the pitch trajectory and location in relation to the strike zone, providing an instant assessment which can be relayed to the home plate umpire.

The All-Star Game will be played at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Continue Reading

Sports

Royals sign former Cy Young winner Keuchel

Published

on

By

Royals sign former Cy Young winner Keuchel

The Kansas City Royals have signed former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, the team announced Wednesday.

The 37-year-old left-hander will start at Triple-A Omaha and will earn a prorated $2 million salary if he reaches the big leagues, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Keuchel has not pitched in the majors for nearly a full calendar year. He elected to become a free agent on July 18, 2024, after being designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers.

In four starts with the Brewers last season, Keuchel had a 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 innings without a decision. In 13 major league seasons, the 2015 American League Cy Young winner with the Houston Astros is 103-92 with a 4.04 ERA in 282 appearances (267 starts).

After pitching his first seven seasons with the Astros, Keuchel has made appearances for six different teams since 2019. He won a World Series with Houston in 2017 and is a two-time All-Star selection and five-time Gold Glove winner.

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.

Continue Reading

Trending