Trevor Bauer's Japanese teammate clarifies comments after social media fiasco
UPDATE: Yamasaki clarified his comments, which he said were directed at the team, not Bauer, and issued a statement.
English translation: "My message was received by the media in the US in a way that I did not intend, and it was taken as if I was saying something bad about him. After talking with Bauer, I was able to convey my feelings clearly. Bauer is an important teammate with whom I aim to win the championship."
The team also issued a statement:
“Before yesterday's game, the club had a discussion with Yasuaki Yamasaki about the staging presentation by the club regarding Trevor Bauer's Sword Celebration performance. The club explained to Yasuaki Yamasaki that the direction and communication were purely intended to share joy with the fans.
The club also discussed with Trevor Bauer, after his arrival in Japan and before his appearance in a minor league game, to see if there were any problems with his Sword Celebration performance - as Trevor Bauer did not want to do anything inappropriate to Japanese culture. The club supported the idea and considered it as an action that would please the fans.
We are very sorry that some foreign media cut out some of Yasuaki Yamasaki's words on twitter and misled the public.”
How are things going for Trevor Bauer as he lives out a "lifelong dream" to play in Japan after being exiled from Major League Baseball as a result of disturbing sexual assault allegations? Well, the former Los Angeles Dodger is already in a feud with one of his teammates.
Remember a few weeks back when Bauer showed up a Japanese minor leaguer with the "sword" celebration after a strikeout? Yup, it didn't get any lamer than that. A former MLB Cy Young winner getting the best of somebody far inferior in terms of talent and then showing them up is as lame as it gets.
But does that surprise MLB fans? Bauer was known for his questionable/childish antics during his 10 seasons in the league, especially as his YouTube channel started to regrettably gain popularity.
Perhaps it's surprised some of the Japanese players because one of Bauer's teammates did not like a video posted of the right-hander doing his sword celebration. Thanks to the folks at Yakyu Cosmopolitan, we were able to get an accurate translation that flamed Bauer.
Yasuaki Yamasaki, a reliever on the Yokohama Bay Stars, blasted Bauer publicly on Twitter in a response to this video.
Former Dodger Trevor Bauer put on blast by Japanese teammate for celebration
Yamasaki's tweet has gotten nearly 4,700 retweets and over 10,000 likes, too. The best part about this, though? This was a video tweeted from the official Yokohama Bay Stars account! The team endorsed this! And it's not like it's even Bauer's personally-stamped celebration.
Chalk that up as the biggest possible L for Bauer since he's being called out by a teammate with nearly 800K Twitter followers for something his own organization decided to promote. Looks like international Bauer is just as appealing as continental US Bauer.
It's unclear why Yamasaki is irked by this, especially because Japanese players are known for their theatric and flamboyant bat flips, but this kind of stuff is usually just difference of opinion on a case-by-case basis.
Either that, or, you know, he might just not like Bauer, who's now all of a sudden a front-facing "star" after pitching for the first time in nearly two years only a couple weeks ago. Someone like Yamasaki who has built a reputation and legacy across nine seasons with the Bay Stars may feel some sort of way, and if that's the reason, it'd be hard to fault him.