Trevor Bauer throws ball over centerfield wall after a rough 5th inning, a breakdown
What Happened
On July 28, 2019, Trevor Bauer's bottom of the fifth fell apart against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. A blooper from Alex Gordon, a sun-blinded misplay by Oscar Mercado in center, a missed ball-four call, and a string of soft flares all conspired to erase Cleveland's 5-3 lead. After a ground ball that nearly ended the inning instead drove in two more, Bauer snapped, grabbed the ball, and launched it over the 410 sign in dead center. Terry Francona came out, pulled him, and Bauer trudged off owning the meltdown with a quiet 'that's on me.'
Why This Matters
This was a few days before the trade deadline, and Bauer's frustration boiled over at the worst possible moment. Throwing a live ball over the centerfield wall isn't illegal exactly, but it's a remarkable show of self-sabotage with runners still scoring. Francona yanked him immediately. Within a week Cleveland shipped Bauer to Cincinnati in a three-team deal, and people pointed to this tantrum as a sign the relationship had run its course, though the Indians always framed it as a baseball move. Bauer never lacked for confidence or competitive fire. Here that fire just had nowhere to go but over the fence. The clip became one of the defining Bauer moments of his career, the kind of footage that follows a player even through a Cy Young season the very next year in 2020.
At 4.5 million views, this sits at #23 of 1,583 Jomboy breakdowns, putting it in the top 1.5% of the whole catalog.
Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Trevor Bauer. Teams: Orioles.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentTrevor Bauer just had an awful no
good no fun very bad bottom of the fifth
inning and it all started
with this alex gordon bloop shot dunks
it in for a single nice piece of hitting
they got a 5-3 lead the indians do he
gets this pop
up to center field but the sun
fights mercado he can't catch it
bauer's like are you kidding me okay
tough start this is brutal next up a 3-2
battle and he doesn't get the call ball
four
base is loaded no outs a little bloop
right in front of home plate
can't field it comes up empty that's an
rbi single let's in a run base is still
loaded no outs bowers thinking oh my god
i want to kill myself find a happy place
try to find a happy place nope just want
to die no find a happy place try to find
a happy place no just want to [ __ ]
die dude i just want to [ __ ]
this sucks this is brutal okay let's uh
pick yourself up let's get out of it
uh oh another little [ __ ]
flare drops in now the game is tied and
bower
feels just like can't do anything he
does strike out the rookie there
and then a ground ball up the middle
almost gloves it
could have gotten out maybe two if he
does instead the royals get two runs
and he takes the ball and just fires it
at the backstop
because this is awful and he fires that
one over the center fielder
head whoo over the 410 sign
francona comes up and says what the [ __ ]
is wrong with you
and he said that's on me that's just my
bad my bad yeah that's my bad
okay he's like well get the [ __ ] out of
here you psycho
and then he's gonna snoopy walk his way
home sadness abounds
charlie brown sad sad sad