If you have ever questioned Trevor Bauer’s toughness or determination before, let that be the last time.
The Tribe’s defacto No. 2 pitcher this postseason was ready to do anything in order to pitch in Game 3 of the ALCS after lacerating his pinky while plugging in one of his drones.
Anything, according to a recent piece from Yahoo! Sports columnist Jeff Passan:
"I even had a soldering iron in my hotel room," Bauer said. "Instead of going to the ER, I probably should’ve sealed it closed myself."
Passan also notes that Trevor informed the training staff of his idea, but they laughed and shrugged it off, although he showed no signs of making a joke. Without somewhere there to stop him, I have little doubt Bauer would have just went ahead and done it. Maybe it wouldn’t have worked, but it couldn’t have been any worse than the stitches were. Bauer threw just 21 pitches in the game before his hand opened up and, well, yeah.
"Why not just put a bandage on it?" you ask? Well, because Major League Baseball rules state that a pitcher cannot have any foreign substance on his hand. That includes a bandage. Outside of Bauer’s idea to burn it shut, stitches are the best option, even if it didn’t work out. Baseballs can also not have any kind of discoloration, which is what eventually led to Bauer needing to be replaced as he was getting way too much blood on the ball.
1) what a W!! 2) my cleats got a bit dirty. 3) loudest standing ovation I've gotten walking off the mound. ... pic.twitter.com/1VUozRBSaG
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) October 18, 2016
Being that the Cleveland Indians won, that they are up 3-0, and that this is Trevor Bauer, he was in good spirits after the game. He was caught taunting Blue Jay fans by signaling "0 and 3" with his hands, and he asked fans to put a crying Jordan on the Vine of his gruesome injury — and someone obliged, of course.
It’s tough to know exactly how long Bauer’s finger will take to fully heal, but hopefully the next time he pitches in Game 2 of the World Series. And, hopefully, his pinky will not be a geyser of blood by that time.