Trevor Bauer's Japanese Teammate Already Upset Over Former MLBer's 'Disrespectful' Celebration Before First NPB Start

Former MLB ace Trevor Bauer is set to make his Nippon Professional Baseball debut this week. DeNA BayStars manager Daisuke Miura recently announced that the 2020 Cy Young winner will start the club's Central League game against the Hiroshima Carp on Wednesday.

It will be Bauer's first "big league start" since 2021.

The 32-year-old signed a one-year deal with the BayStars back in March that is estimated to be about $3 million. Incentives could bump that number closer to $4 million.

Wednesday's start comes 21 months after Bauer was placed on administrative leave amidst an internal investigation into significant sexual assault allegations that were made against him. He was later suspended for 324 games, per the MLB's domestic violence policy, but had the sentence cut to 194 games after an appeal.

Bauer ultimately did not face criminal charges from the allegations. Both he and his legal team continue to maintain that all of the occurances were consensual.

The MLB then reinstated Bauer in December, but no team was willing to sign him so he went overseas for at least one year. His first start in the NPB minor leagues drew a massive crowd.

Bauer threw 77 pitches in his second minor league start and 93 in his third. The right-hander recorded a 2.25 ERA with 17 strikeouts over 16 innings in three Eastern League games.

Now, on Wednesday, he will take the mound for the top-tier club. He will face the Hiroshima Carp, and will likely pitch against his former Reds teammate, Shogo Akiyama.

Trevor Bauer's celebration ruffles feathers.

There is a lot of anticipation surrounding Bauer's first start with the BayStars. To get the fans excited, the team suggested that everybody join in on his famous sword strikeout celebration.

DeNA's suggestion did not go over well with Yasuaki Yamasaki, who has an incredibly lit closer entrance of his own. The 30-year-old, six-time NPB All-Star called out the celebration.

The ancient Samurai culture of Japan is sacred. Yamasaki doesn't seem to like how Bauer's celebration might be a slight toward that tradition.

A loose translation of his tweet reads:

Don’t be an idiot. That is disrespectful. There are better ways to go about this.

The BayStars have not responded to Yamasaki's concerns. It will be interesting to see whether Bauer, and the team, move forward with their sword celebration or if the NPB lifer will shut it down.