I can’t sum this up any better than Craig Calcattera did, so let’s start there:
Trevor Bauer had his introductory press conference / Zoom meeting with the Dodgers yesterday and gathered baseball media. And we have to give them a small amount (the exact amount, to quote Alan Arkin from the movie Argo, the buffalo shit would be on a penny) that they even bothered to ask Bauer about his past behavior on social media. To judge, Bauer is one misogynist transphobic Harassment pig in the past. But before, people like Bauer weren’t even asked the question. Take Tom Brady and Antonio Brown for example in the last Super Bowl.
So Bauer focused on it. Barely. And not even really. It was the most fleeting time you can imagine.
“All the conversations I’ve had with people from all walks of life and all the things I’ve learned – I can say I’ve learned from that,” Bauer said after he released his No. 27 shirt at a virtual press conference. from Dodger Stadium. “I’ve spent a lot of time talking to other people to try to understand other perspectives, and I’m doing my best to get better, as I do in all walks of my life. I don’t think it makes sense to dive into specific issues in this forum, but I am determined to be better on social media, be better on the field, be better at the clubhouse, be better at life in in general. “
And this standard, addressing-nothing response generated no follow-up question, a warning, criticism, whatever. What did Bauer learn? Who was he talking to? Which perspectives? It definitely makes sense to dive into details, but the reason he doesn’t want to is probably because he didn’t do anything about it. Why should he? He just signed for $ 40 million this year. Where are the consequences? You can bet he’ll get back to his nonsense the next time a woman sneezes on him on Twitter. And that check will still be cash.
And yet it is headlines like these on ESPN, as if he turned a new page. Or this at MLB.com, as if it were enough. In any case, that piece mentioned his past actions, while also mentioning his non-apology. Here is with-the-ready straw man Jon Heyman to defend those attending the press conference, even though Bauer said nothing again, there were no follow-up questions, Bauer took no responsibility, and the article Heyman retweets says so much. It feels like the slightest effort to actually question anyone about this kind of behavior is being treated like William Wallace conquering the English, just so that the baseball press doesn’t have to do it again.
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And GM Andrew Friedman was no better.
“Most importantly, every teammate we spoke to, all the feedback we got from every organization he was with was incredibly positive not only in terms of the type of teammate he is, but also in terms of the impact he is making on any organization, ”said Friedman when asked if he believes he has alienated some of the team’s fans by signing Bauer. “I think the talent is pretty clear. But I also think from a cultural point of view, from continuing to strive to get better at everything we do, I actually think he will be a huge asset to that. It is not for me to speak for Trevor, but in our conversations he refers to past mistakes he made. And you know what, we’re all going to make mistakes. What’s important to me is how people – myself included, when I make mistakes – is how we internalize it and what our thoughts are about it going forward. From our point of view, it was important to have that conversation. And we got away with a good feeling. Now, clearly, time will tell. But I feel like he’s going to be a great addition not only to the field, but also to the clubhouse, to the community, and that’s clearly why we’re here. “
Friedman, as Bauer says nothing here. Did he talk to the women Bauer harassed? Fuck no, he didn’t. Has he talked to women about Bauer? No. But did he speak to Bauer’s former teammates? What are they going to tell you? Are they the ones whose lives he made hell?
As for thoughts moving forward, to repeat myself ad nauseum, Bauer said nothing about what he will do in the future other than ‘get better’. Damn, thaIt’s a step back for Melania’s pointless “Be Best” campaign against cyberbullying, when her husband was the showcase. “Getting better” can mean anything. And therefore it means nothing.
Anyway, he actually had to deal with it with a nothing-citizen, so everyone in it baseball media suddenly thinks they are the Woodward and Bernstein of sexism.