Mookie Betts Makes the Case for 'Great Guy' Trevor Bauer to Be Allowed Back in MLB

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It's been just under a month since Trevor Bauer and Lindsay Hill each dropped their lawsuits against each other, and he released this video of her text messages, claiming they demonstrate the reason she accused him of domestic violence was she was after his money from the get-go:

And like I said at the time, sticking up for multimillionaires who were touched by the gods with athletic talent when they've been accused of physically assaulting their casual sexual hookups is a sucker's game. A no-win scenario:

Trevor Bauer isn't my brother or my friend. He doesn't send me cards on my birthday or bring me soup when I'm sick. He's never even won a World Series for my team. Which, if we're all being perfectly honest, will sometimes earn a player enough goodwill that fans can forgive a certain degree of jackassery. Besides, as I also wrote, Bauer always struck me as kind of a dick. So I have no interest in dying on the hill of defending him. 

But you know who has never struck me as even slightly dickish? Mookie Betts. Even acknowledging that we never really truly know famous people of his stature, you do get a certain sense of someone who's been in the public eye as long as he has. And I defy anyone to name one instance where Betts didn't handle himself well or come across as the kind of guy you could, say, go bowling with. Let's make that "hang out with," since I don't want to be in the same bowling alley as a guy who has multiple perfect games under his belt and probably more in his future. 

So when a guy like Mookie Betts talks about a guy like Trevor Bauer, that should carry some weight with everyone:

Source - Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts said he hopes major-league teams will consider signing former teammate Trevor Bauer this offseason. "It's something to think about," Betts said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Here's more from Betts:

"My experience with Bauer is not anything remotely close to what  everyone else's experience is. I love him. I think he's an awesome guy.  The personal things? I have no control. I have no say. Obviously,  nothing ever came from it.

"He's an awesome pitcher. He's a great  guy, somebody who wants to take the mound every fifth day. But, at the  end of the day, I don't make the decision. That's a decision that's not  as simple as baseball."

I'm sure in some circles Betts will catch flak for this. And in fairness, calling it "The personal things" wasn't the best choice of words. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis got destroyed for writing a letter to the judge supporting their old That 70s Show costar and had to walk it back with a tearful apology carefully written by their publicist. But the guy they wrote it for is a convicted rapist who'll die in jail. Bauer's accuser was denied a restraining order, no criminal charges were brought against him, and he paid her zero dollars and fuck off cents as they both dropped their lawsuits. 

Yes, it's been widely reported that he has other accusers. But unless those allegations are being litigated in some court system where he can face his accuser, how is he supposed to defend himself? How could anyone? He might be ridiculously wealthy, freakishly athletic, good looking, and draw super attractive groupies like Lindsay Hill. But that shouldn't take away his right to due process. If we allow someone to lose their livelihood permanently because they've been accused of something, then we're all one or two allegations from being ruined for life. 

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But to repeat what Betts said, I don't make the decision. If I'm a Major League owner (and it's a crime against nature that I am not), I'd have to give serious thought as to whether I want the migraines that come from signing a guy who just came off a 194 game supsension and having to answer the excruciating questions that will no doubt begin, "What do you say to all the women …" Because no one's going to want to hear, "Well, for starters he went 10-4 in Japan with a 2.76 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 130.2 innings. And we got him for a bargain basement price because no one else wanted him." Even though that's the hard truth, it's potentially bad for business. 

So it's going to be a fascinating case study. Bauer is going to be the canary in the coal mine as we test out whether the #MeToo movement is still ongoing and leaving the accused permanently banned, or if a guy can have his day in court and get his reputation and his career back. Either way, MLB is going to have an interesting winter.