If you ask most casual observers, Trevor Bauer is the Anti-Hero. But wait, that’s not the type of article this is. This author is prepared to make a bet that you too will be convinced that Trevor Bauer is what baseball in 2020 needs, and not only that, but that we need many more like Trevor Bauer.
Furthermore, this is the type of story that speaks to impeccable work rate, intelligence and decision making, by a player, who by traditional metrics shouldn’t have been on anyone’s radar. He’s a modern American Baseball hero. And here’s a bold prediction: Trevor Bauer’s antics are the future of the sport.
—
Here is an unabashed request to Bauer himself: Come to San Diego – where a world-class ace like you will be the pitching core and add personality to a clubhouse full of amazing athlete’s just on the cusp of something incredible, and already full of character. Besides, you won’t have to face “your daddy” Machado, and you’d have the ability to put into play some of the most progressive training protocols anywhere, with a club that has to compete through that type of innovation and thinking to minimize overall cost outflows. It’s literally a perfect fit for you. and it fits the whole Prodigal Son concept being that it’s in Southern California, and you could legitimately be the pitching cornerstone to a dynasty that wants to be built here.
You heard it here first: Trevor is coming to SDP. And the future is bright! Fingers crossed.
—
First of all, let’s forget the backstory about Trevor Bauer. It’s been played out. Many pundits call him the “average kid who leveraged technology to be a CY Young Contender”. You’re selling him short, and you are selling the future of the sport short.
The thing about baseball, is you don’t need to be 6’10 to get a look by scouts. You don’t need to be 275 lbs. and run a 4.55 40-yard dash. You don’t need to be playing from the age of 2, to have a chance against peers. Technology, training, and understanding, matched with a ridiculous work rate and uncompromising desire to succeed can actually put you in a position to play professional baseball. It’s one of the few big sports that has a mechanism that allows for “real people” to potentially play professionally.
There’s a fantastic pitcher right now burning it up for the Twins named Randy Dobnak that was an Uber driver a few years ago.
Larry Walker is (essentially) a Canadian walk-on, that used the same formula outlined above, to become a well-deserved Hall of Famer, after looking terrible early on in his professional career.
Roy Halladay would likely never have become the pitcher he was without hard work, legitimate insight from high quality trainers, and the above formula. He too, is a HOF’r.
There are several 1-tool players drafted in very low rounds that have become all-star players. Mike Piazza could have been described as such: selected 1390th overall in the 62nd round. He turned out to be quite the pickup, and ended as much better than a one-tool prospect, ultimately in the Hall of Fame.
One of the coolest stories in this genre is of Jim Morris a youth baseball coach that made it all the way to the MLB – his story is highlighted in a movie called “The Rookie”.
—
(We will talk about Trevor Bauer’s baseball skills in an article later)
So after as long-winded way of saying let’s not talk about baseball talent yet, and then talking about it for multiple paragraphs, here’s where we should start:
The “off the field” stuff that helps to understand why Trevor Bauer is doing everything right.
His agent is a former top tier gymnast who is quite attractive and happens to be the first female MLBPA certified player agent. She’s not what baseball agents traditionally are. Not only is her own story impressive, but she knows baseball, she’s a lawyer, and she does really innovative stuff – she too is a grinder. She works all the time. It’s quite impressive. Her name is Rachel Luba. Trevor is her highest-profile client, but that may not be true forever. Especially since Bauer is having a very good season for the Reds (at the time of this writing, he may have the best stuff in baseball, this, with Bieber and Bundy and Dobnak crushing it), and she will likely parlay that into a nice salary bump, though us Padres hopefuls will keep our fingers crossed, and hope he signs for 3 years at an average of 18mil, because we cannot see SD doing anything richer than that. We also cannot see a very innovative Trevor Bauer taking a pay cut to come here either. He’s making $17.5 million in part thanks to Luba and is in prime negotiating position moving forward.
Not to mention his performance and pitches get better daily.
There’s also this whole tension thing between the two of them. Who knows what they did back at UCLA, or what they are doing now – it’s none of my business, but their “will-they-won’t-they?” playfulness is spectacular on camera. And they partner a lot on camera. It’s highly likely she helped build that aspect of his brand a bit for Bauer, but he has pushed all-in on it, and with Momentum, his company doing what they are doing, it’s another strong point as to why this is the guy we need in baseball right now.
Together they are VERY GOOD. She has some very good concepts and work ethic, and he is innovative and comfortable with risk, and they vibe well. I foresee very good things between their partnership going forward regardless of the end result. They also look like they’d be super compatible too. But that’s beyond the scope of this website and this article. Some things should remain private.
—
He’s got personality. Some don’t like that personality, but as a kid who was bullied relentlessly, he seems to have a pretty good handle on what he is and what he isn’t and while he isn’t shy, he also doesn’t care what you think. Baseball has this traditional unspoken rule that says you need to say what your club tells you to say. It’s boring. Not only is it boring, but it also doesn’t attract new fans.
Do you know what does? Viral content and showing emotion. When you see Trevor Bauer chuck a ball over the center-field wall when he gets thrashed against KCR, you think, “Wow, what just happened?”
When you see how Terry Francona reacts when he finally reaches the mound – you almost feel sorry for Trevor. When you see his respect for his manager, as he touches his arm and walks off the field, you know it’s the mark of a professional…who just made a wild decision.
When you see Trevor Bauer refuses to be put into a box by the media afterward – now you realize he has that X-Factor.
Alex Bregman was doing stuff like Trevor Bauer off the field for a little while until the Astros scandal. He probably stopped because he realized that it would only hurt his image to keep up the off-field persona stuff given the circumstances. Also, – Trevor Bauer and his “Team Momentum” doubled down on making the Astros look ridiculous as a form of production value. He teams up with guys like Jomboy Media on YouTube, and he has legitimate professional videographers doing high production value content for the brand. It’s the type of stuff you want to see Mike Trout doing.
But no one else is doing this type of thing in baseball.
It’s no hold barred, unadulterated, and infinitely watchable content for any baseball fan with even an ounce of remorse towards MLB, Rob Manfred, or the way things have been.
Trevor is respectful, but he doesn’t pull punches. He is RAW. Like his stance on dating. And his rise to Cy Young contention. And his outlook on things.
Do you know what’s crazy though? He’s doing stuff no one else in baseball is doing. Not just in content production, but in building a brand, challenging the status quo, improving on his now very legitimate skillsets, and changing the way baseball uses data and performance metrics.
He spends well north of $500,000 a year independently on building one-off proprietary routines, models, algorithms, and performance tracking procedures to improve his abilities. But the bigger picture is about how baseball players of all types can do the same type of inward improvement. The way that focusing on yourself can pay dividends. He’s telling kids that are average, that you don’t have to settle. Kids that have been bullied – there are girls out there that will dig you; and a chance to be a big-time something.
He’s showing what’s possible by challenging the traditional parts of baseball, without wiping the nostalgia off the map. He still wears his pants knee-high. The same way he wore them to school, while the other kids laughed at him. He loves everything baseball. And what’s not to love about that?
—
He’s got that business sense. He has team members that he employs that build things. Innovative things, using technology that doesn’t have a foothold in baseball yet. Talk about money ball. This is the future of the sport. He talks to fringe coaches and training companies to find a shred of evidence that shows improvement is possible with their unique philosophies. But he also is the same type of guy that still goofs off and eats cotton candy.
He makes more than most will ever make in their lifetime, in a single year. Even after he takes the hit on the COVID-paycut. But he still thinks that people deserve to be applauded for continuing to follow baseball, given the arbitrary, and ridiculous fees and license blackouts that come with MLB’s archaic structuring. He’s humbler than you want to admit. But you have to watch more than just a clip of the guy to realize it.
He sounds crass and rude and like an outlaw trying to exact justice on everything that bothers him in his own wild-west melodrama at times. But I think that’s because you don’t hear his full story. When you let the guy talk for more than 45 seconds, he makes more sense than any player in baseball right now. He’s also more willing to take the risks, and do the work, and pay for the innovative solutions than any other player in the game currently.
—
He’s a genuine guy. He helped turn Mike Clevinger into a legitimate Cy Young capable pitcher by helping him work through issues in his delivery and by introducing him to different training and procedural innovations. Mike Clevinger is incredibly skilled in his own right, but even he won’t challenge that assessment.
He’s the type of guy that has more baseball knowledge in nuance than whole organizations are offering in some cases. But because of a few outbursts, and some awkward hot takes, and a 24-hour news cycle, he is relegated to being this guy who just rags on everything.
—
Here’s the deal: his content is unreal. I mean it is truly world class.
His performance proves that his methods and philosophies are right. He has helped not only himself but several others who would go on the record for him to get more out of their physical and psychological capacity than they could have without the methods.
His pitches show more improvement than just about anyone else year over year, and it continues every year. He is getting better and better.
He has a maverick, successful, good looking, easy to listen to manager/agent that appeals to younger generations because they way she talks, where she is from and how she does her job, which by the way is disruptive and refreshing and successful. She could easily stand on her own, but right now this synergy between Rachel Luba and Trevor Bauer is innovative and transparent, and disruptive. It’s a new take on a traditional sport.
For the record: the fact that she is good looking is more about this author voicing a personal opinion – she doesn’t need her looks to succeed in a male dominated world – she already has all the other skillsets and talent. She’s more innovative than Scott Boras ever thought about being. And I don’t even agree with much of what she says. What she is doing is good for Trevor, for baseball, and hopefully helps her to have a long, successful disruptive career.
We NEED players and managers/agents that appeal to the younger generations. Or else baseball won’t be around for very much longer.
So, yes, the answer is clear: Trevor Bauer is the hero that baseball needs right now. That, in a world where Mike Trout once again proves that he is Mr. Consistent. Where Aaron Judge proves he is not a 1 and done player. Fernando Tatis Jr. Proves that players can still have fun and love what they do. And Charlie Blackmon might have a chance to challenge .400, when it’s all about the long ball.
What baseball needs is a maverick, that is never content with what they accomplished yesterday. Never willing to stop talking because they said something that someone is bothered by and isn’t willing to just toe the line for the club in all their opportunities to speak. In the era where whole brands are being built by the Lebron’s and Pat Mahomes and Zion’s of the world, Baseball has the anti-hero; hero, in Trevor Bauer, (and his brand team) and it’s refreshing.