Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer looks on from...

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer looks on from the dugout during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, July 1, 2021, in Washington. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez

Major League Baseball’s landmark ruling Friday to issue a 324-game suspension to Trevor Bauer may end up being closer to the beginning of this sordid saga than its conclusion.

Why?

Bauer’s case is the first time a player subjected to disciplinary action under the league’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy did not participate in the negotiated outcome.

When MLB first introduced the policy in 2015, spurred in part by the NFL’s questionable handling of its own high-profile cases, it not only was done with the close cooperation of the Players Association but depended on a partnership from the union’s side.

Unlike many other labor-related disputes, recently highlighted by this past winter’s 99-day lockout and bitter CBA negotiations, the heinous nature of domestic violence made for a common enemy. As a result, before Bauer, the previous 15 suspensions were upheld without an appeal, and only two of those involved convictions of crimes.

In 2016, Atlanta outfielder Hector Olivera was found guilty of domestic assault and sentenced to 10 days in prison; MLB banned him for 82 games. In 2019, Padres pitcher Jose Torres wound up with two years’ probation for pleading guilty to aggravated assault after pointing a handgun at his wife; he received a 100-game suspension and was released by the Padres before the court ruling.

This is notable in Bauer’s situation because the refusal by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office to pursue criminal allegations against the Dodgers pitcher clearly had little bearing on MLB’s penalty. Nor should it necessarily.

As baseball’s past instances have shown, the burden of proof for criminal cases — or what the legal authorities believe they can prosecute — is considerably higher than an employer’s guidelines for accused offenders.

Domestic abuse cases frequently fall apart before reaching a courtroom because of witnesses backing out or dropping the charges entirely. This often is due to the sensitive family/relationship dynamics at play, along with the emotional turbulence of enduring a public trial.

The commissioner’s office recognized this when formulating the policy in 2015 to give it leeway in handing out punishment. The more far-reaching parameters were specifically designed to function under a larger domestic-abuse umbrella, as legislated by MLB, the union and — if required — an arbitrator.

According to the policy, “sexual assault refers to a range of behaviors, including a completed nonconsensual sex act, an attempted nonconsensual sex act, and/or nonconsensual sexual contact. Lack of consent is inferred when a person uses force, harassment, threat of force, threat of adverse personnel or disciplinary action, or other coercion, or when the victim is asleep, incapacitated, unconscious or legally incapable of consent.”

That is what Bauer is up against with his intent to appeal the 324-game suspension and what amounts to roughly $60 million in lost salary, as it would extend through his current three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers. Until Friday, Bauer had been on what MLB’s policy described as “administrative leave” since last July and was being paid to that point.

Bauer has been defiant, filing lawsuits against the San Diego woman who accused him as well as two media outlets: Deadspin and The Athletic.

When the suspension was announced Friday, Bauer took to Twitter to give his side, and although he has never denied a sexual relationship with the accuser, he has stated that anything that happened was consensual.

“In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy,” Bauer tweeted in a statement. “I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have throughout this process, my representatives and I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.”

Given the ugly elements of this case and the escalating, combative developments, Bauer most likely has thrown his last pitch in the major leagues. What’s left is potentially recouping some salary by shrinking the suspension, or if that fails, perhaps filing lawsuits against the Dodgers and MLB.

Based on Bauer’s public stance and his decision to go after his accuser, it seems that any kind of settlement regarding the suspension is out of the question.

Also, the challenges for Bauer already are starting to multiply. On Friday, The Washington Post reported another detailed account of alleged sexual assault, this time from a Columbus, Ohio, woman.

The Post’s story mentioned that this new Bauer accuser had shared these allegations with MLB as part of its 10-month investigation. Judging by the record severity of the suspension, the commissioner’s office feels more than justified with the evidence against him. Bauer’s ban doubles the length of the previous record, the 162-game suspension issued to free-agent reliever Sam Dyson before the start of last season.

n  Short hops

n  Close observers of Tuesday’s Yankees-Orioles game got to witness the great lengths MLB is going to this season to police illegal sticky stuff on the baseballs. Not only are two specific rosin bags used — one an 8-ounce Honduran pine rock rosin and the other an 8-ounce Honduran pine powder rosin — but they must be stored in a separate area at stadiums and provided in sealed bags that can be opened only by the umpiring crew. That caused a slight delay Tuesday when a new rosin bag was requested.

“Any time you switch out a rosin bag now, it’s got to come from one of the attendants,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “They got to break the seal on it. That’s the first time that’s happened to us.”

n  Two Cardinals were suspended for their roles in Wednesday’s bench-clearing brawl with the Mets, but somehow first-base coach Stubby Clapp didn’t make the list despite hauling down Pete Alonso from behind in the scrum. Clapp is a former high school wrestler (according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) and looked like one in slamming Alonso, but he stunningly received no further punishment from MLB, even after he and Nolan Arenado were the only Cards ejected. Crew chief Mark Wegner cited the reason as “his overaggressive actions in the melee.” My view: It’s inexcusable for a coach to physically engage with a player on the field, especially without direct provocation. Clapp should have been bounced for a game at the very least.

n  The Giants’ Carlos Rodon, one of only two starting pitchers to beat the Mets this season, is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA and an MLB-leading 14.87 K/9 ratio. His 38 strikeouts are the most by a Giants pitcher in his first four appearances, surpassing 35 by Tim Lincecum during his 2009 Cy Young Award season. Rodon, who signed a two-year, $44 million deal in March immediately after the lockout, has pitched at least five innings with eight or more strikeouts and no more than three hits in each of his four starts, joining Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers to do that. No one has done it through the first five starts of a season.

Newsday LogoSUBSCRIBEUnlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 5 months
ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME