© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Trevor Bauer loves to be the center of attention, and to his credit, he is excellent at commanding it. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher drew the ire of Giants fans on Friday night after throwing 126 pitches over 6 1/3 innings and fanning 11 while failing to allow a run.
There were multiple moments in which he leaned into the villain role, like his fourth-inning-ending strikeout of Alex Dickerson, which he punctuated with his sword-sheath celebration. He might be an exceedingly corny, ignominious showman, but he’s got the role down pat.
I guess the Giants broadcast team isn't a fan of the Trevor Bauer sword celebration ? pic.twitter.com/OBn99KFR3f
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) May 22, 2021
But it was when he was pulled in the seventh inning to a chorus of boos that drew the most attention. He cupped his ear as he walked off the mound and encouraged the Giants’ fans to up their volume and veracity of boos.
Trevor Bauer welcomes the boos in San Francisco!! Tommy Lasorda is smiling in Blue Heaven. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/dimD282btI
— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) May 22, 2021
Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, who was not a fan of the sword-sheath celebration above, joined the Murph and Mac Show on Monday to talk about Bauer’s role in the Giants-Dodgers rivalry and how Giants players are viewing him.
“Well first of all, it’s noticed, it’s talked about and it’s remembered,” Krukow said. “That’s what’s going on in the clubhouse right now. They’re not talking openly, publicly, in front of a microphone. But don’t think for one second that it wasn’t seen. And I think that Bauer’s a gift to this rivalry, I do, because he is a great bad guy. And, we ain’t seen nothing yet from what this guy’s going to do.”
His advice? Run up the score on him.
“So guess what? Go out there and beat his butt,” Krukow said. “The thing about Bauer, you do that, you’re going to get focus from 26 guys. It’s going to be intense… He has their attention and I think that’s interesting. He has the attention of the fan base. It’s getting talked about right now… now that he’s got a Dodger uni on and he’s pulling that stuff? It’s adding fuel to the fire. It’s a gift.”
Listen to the full interview below.