Congressman says MLB is ousting Trevor Bauer due to Trump support, in letter to Rob Manfred
Representative Eric Burlison (R-MO) wrote a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, stating his belief that Trevor Bauer has been ostracized from the league due to his support for Trump.
Bauer was suspended for 324 games in 2021 for violating MLB's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. His suspension was reduced to 194 (representing the time he missed in 2021 while on administrative leave and the entire 2022 season), but he was still released by the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2023 season began. As a result, he played professionally in Japan in 2023 and in Mexico in 2024.
The majority of Bauer's legal issues are behind him, and has maintained his innocence, settling with one accuser while another is facing 16 years in prison after being charged with fraud following the faking of a pregnancy and asking Bauer for money for an abortion.
However, it has been almost four full years since Bauer last took an MLB mound, and Burlison is taking MLB to task as to why.
"Mr. Bauer was suspended for 324 games; the longest non-lifetime suspension in the history of the league, despite the fact that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to pursue criminal charges against him, citing insufficient evidence. . . ." Burlison wrote.
"Given that no legal action was taken against Mr. Bauer, I am concerned his absence may be tied to certain political statements he made that diverged from prevailing league orthodoxy, as well as statements he made that were critical of MLB and particularly you. Specifically, in 2016, Mr. Bauer publicly expressed positive views about then-candidate Donald J. Trump, including comments on social media praising Trump's campaign rhetoric and outsider status. Additionally, Mr. Bauer, in responding to a social media post, noted his belief that disrespecting fellow human beings should not be tolerated, which was taken as an opposition to MLB's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. And lastly, Mr. Bauer made a number of remarks prior to his suspension critical of MLB and specifically you, ranging from expanded playoffs, the marketing of MLB players, to the then refusal of MLB to investigate pitchers using sticky substances. . . .
"Given the timing and severity of Mr. Bauer's suspension, it is reasonable to question whether MLB's actions were influenced more by his political stances and criticisms of [Manfred] and MLB than by the allegations against him, which have since been undermined by judicial review and evidentiary shortcomings."
Bauer, who once said that he "may have no other choice" but to sue the league for his ouster, told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview last year that he had never done anything "criminally" but still had to look in the mirror and work on himself after the allegations.
"Anyone that's willing to sit down with me and listen: I'd like to play the second half of my career in a better way than I played the first half," Bauer told Fox News Digital. "I'd like to be an example that you can make mistakes, recognize them, adjust and then be better in the future. I think that's something us as humans have to do and should be doing constantly."
In a combined 28 starts in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and his abbreviated 2021 campaign, his ERA was a minuscule 2.24, and he struck out 11.8 batters per nine innings with a 0.92 WHIP. He was named the 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner.
Bauer and Lindsey Hill, who accused the pitcher of beating and sexually abusing her in 2021, settled their case late last year. Bauer revealed texts from Hill, who had said that Bauer would be her "next victim," among other damning messages. Hill has since said that MLB has more evidence of Bauer's alleged misconduct.
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