"It’s the least marketable [league] because you make stupid decisions" - When Trevor Bauer blasted MLB commissioner Rob Manfred
Trevor Bauer has been one of the most polarizing players throughout his MLB career. The former National League Cy Young Award winner has made a name for himself for his outspoken personality, as well as his on-field and off-field controversies.
Trevor Bauer recently admitted that he made several mistakes throughout his career and hoped that the changes he had incorporated in his life would help him get another shot in the MLB. While Bauer proved that he could still pitch at an elite level last season in Japan, there have been a number of strikes against the pitcher that may keep him out of the MLB.
"No MLB team is going to sign Trevor Bauer and rightfully so" - @rumbunter
One of those incidents came in 2020 when the controversial pitcher called out Rob Manfred. If Bauer is truly hoping to return to the MLB, not only will the recent sexual assault allegations be off-putting for some teams, but his past run-ins with the MLB Commissioner may be working against him in terms of forgiveness.
In a scathing video, Bauer took aim at Commissioner Rob Manfred for a number of issues, including the way that the league markets their players.
"It’s the least marketable because you make stupid decisions about how you market the players," Bauer said in the video.
"Trevor Bauer goes OFF on Commissioner Rob Manfred and the new proposed playoff policy (@Watch_Momentum)" - @BaseballQuotes1
The then-member of the Cincinnati Reds called out Manfred and the league for a number of things that they felt the league was doing wrong. While the media struggles and marketing were big issues for Bauer at the time, the addition of more Wild Card teams to the postseason was also something that rubbed Bauer the wrong way.
Trevor Bauer said that he was open to working alongside Rob Manfred to improve the league's marketing
While the majority of the video was criticizing both the MLB's marketing team and Rob Manfred, the former Los Angeles Dodgers star did say that he was interested in meeting with the Commissioner.
Trevor Bauer felt that the MLB needed to revamp its media strategy, as well as completely overhaul how it used social media. The polarizing pitcher compared the number of Steph Curry highlights to the number of Mike Trout highlights. Bauer felt that the MLB needed to get as much content out as possible to help reach younger generations.