Trevor Bauer's novel approach to baseball is manifested in word choices that typically don't appear in a major league clubhouse. Some pitchers find it mentally taxing to embrace the concept of "spin rate.'' Bauer is the only one who'll spend the offseason trying to pick up a slider and fretting about the "laminar flow'' and "Magnus force'' required to make the pitch achieve its purpose.
Bauer's innovative take was destined to brand him as a loner, but to his consternation, he has gained an even more notorious designation as a drag on clubhouse camaraderie. Since his days as a star pitcher at UCLA and a 2011 first-round draft pick, he has read and heard that he is aloof and a bit of a mope.