Becoming more than $ 100 million richer seems to have done little to change Trevor Bauer.
The new Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher did his second spring training on Saturday against division rival San Diego Padres, throwing three goalless entries with three eliminations. It was a rather monotonous start, except for the fact that Bauer could be seen doing … something with his left eye.
At first, it looked like he had caught something in the eye or was having some kind of reaction. At the end of the first inning, after eliminating Padres shortstop Ha-seong Kim swinging, Bauer can be seen pointing at his closed eye.
Bauer kind of explained what he was doing when talking to reporters after the start:
“I thought if they couldn’t hit me with one eye open, it would be difficult to hit me with both eyes open. Just having a little fun.”
“There is definitely a reason behind this … if I wanted to share, I would definitely have done it already.”
He elaborated another answer, confirming that he gave the first inning with his eye closed by means of Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times:
“I like to feel uncomfortable and throw different things in my way and try to find a solution to this. That’s how you get better. Find a way to get uncomfortable, so get comfortable with it and do it again.”
From that second answer, it seems possible that Bauer was trying some strange form of differential training, a practice he discussed in “The MVP Machine”, by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik. Basically, the idea – usually carried out with balls of different sizes or weights – is to change the task of shooting so that each shot looks a little different, forcing the pitcher’s mind to stay active and his body to adapt during training.
His explanation in the book:
“It turns out that the quickest way to acquire a new skill is to force yourself to perform it in a constantly changing environment, implement or activity,” says Bauer. “If you can vary one of these [elements] every time, with the same goal, your body acquires this ability much more quickly. “
Dave Roberts, manager of the Dodgers also added there is “a method for your madness” after the game. In this case, you may be getting better at shooting and removing your perception of depth during a glorified friendly game.
Or the man just wanted attention. With Bauer, both answers can generally be valid.
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