Matt Loede
Videos by OutKick
Reigning National League Cy Young award winner Trevor Bauer has always done things a little differently. As he’s gotten more successful, he’s been able to take even more liberties and do even more within the realm of social media.
The pitcher announced on Friday that he is heading out west, inking a three-year, $102 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers that could see him opt-out after either of the first two seasons.
While signing with the Dodgers wasn’t a shock, what was is the fact that Bauer apparently had a deal with the New York Mets already on the table.
The 30-year-old right-hander put out a video posted to his YouTube that made his move to the Dodgers official.
The video concluded by stating, “This season is about adding to our legacy, and I can’t wait, Dodger fans.”
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the contract Bauer didn’t sign with the Mets had a higher overall value than the one with the Dodgers, but the pitcher decided heading out west was a better decision for him.
Bauer put out a series of tweets Sunday evening that addressed Mets fans. He told them he was “sorry” for a merchandise glitch on his website that made it appear he was heading to the Big Apple.
Here’s the Twitter thread put out on Bauer’s official Twitter account.
Mets fans, I owe you an explanation and apology.
My intention this entire offseason was to engage with fans in ways that made the off season and free agent process more interesting. I woke up early on Friday not knowing what my decision would be and spent the next 5 hours on
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
the phone with my representation team trying to figure that out. I wasn’t on social media or my website, as my marketing and digital team was managing both at the time, so I didn’t see what happened until after the fact. I’ve taken some time over the last two days to figure it
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
out, and I take full responsibility for the mistakes outlined below. In the spirit of transparency, here’s what happened:
Throughout the free agency process, my team prepared marketing materials for multiple organizations, as I didn’t know where or when I would sign. In order to
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
be prepared for a moment that could materialize very quickly, we had uploaded many of those to my website on the back-end. The plan was not to have those pages live until a decision had been made, which is obviously not what happened. That was the first mistake. The plan was to
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
release a link to my website and the appropriate materials via linktree on my Instagram page once my decision was finalized. Unfortunately, that link was posted in error well before any decision had been made. That was the second mistake. Understandably, the link was quickly
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
discovered and began to spread on social media.
The resulting confusion is understandable and regrettable. My intention was never to mislead your fan base, nor was it to troll you in any way. I had a fantastic time engaging with fans from many teams over the last few months and
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
Mets fans priced to be as passionate and energetic a bunch as any, so I offer my sincerest apologies for how the events Friday played out. I have no control over false media reports stating a contract was in place or that terms had been agreed to, but I do accept responsibility
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
for the errors above. It was an embarrassing and emotional moment for me.
For those of you who entered the giveaway, you will be entered into a raffle for game tickets next time the Dodgers play the Mets (and fans are able to be in stadium). I will also be donating $10,000 each
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
to the following New York-based nonprofits:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC @BBBSNYC
STEM Kids NYC @stemkidsnyc
The Get Schooled Foundation @getschooled
Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens @vbgcqI look forward to my next visit to Citi Field and hope to hear you just as
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
loud in person, even if it’s not in cheers for me.
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
Last season, Bauer won the Cy Young award after he went 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA in Cincinnati. It was the first Cy Young for the Reds ever. He was also the only pitcher in baseball last year with a pair of shutouts.
If you didn’t see the video which Bauer’s team produced, you can check it out below.
