Trevor Bauer, the young phenom pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, is prepared to make his debut at Chase Field come Tuesday night. The crowds are expected to be in high attendance, not only because they will have the 4th of July off, but because they want to watch the young player do what he does best -- pitch.
Despite only throwing a limited amount of pitches in his first start, the young man is not lacking any confidence. Instead, he plans not to worry, opting to take his first year in the bigs day by day. He said so as much before Monday's game against the Padres.
When asked if he was nervous when taking the mound for the first time, Bauer gave a quick "no", putting any doubters to rest. And have no doubts about Bauer making that start either, despite his nagging groin injury.
Bauer's groin has been something that has bothered him all year, but he doesn't plan to let it distract him. "I've dealt with it all season, it's been something that has nagged. I thought I had gotten rid of it and it kind of popped up again," Bauer said. "I haven't missed a start and it feels completely fine today, so I'll be ready to go."
His teammates and manager seem to feel he will be ready to go as well. Before the game, Daniel Hudson was speaking to the press in the clubhouse in full support of his new, young teammate. "He's got all the tools to be a good major league pitcher. Obviously the expectations are high and sometimes those aren't fair, you know? So he's always going to be under a microscope. Like I said, he's got unbelievable stuff and obviously great makeup as well, so it's going to be fun to watch."
His new manager, Kirk Gibson shared Huddy's sentiments:
"I would say when I played, I wasn't nervous either. Yet I had this feeling in my gut. It's just how I always felt when I competed. Some people call that nervous, some people call that ready to go."
Bauer looked composed at the podium as well, addressing the Arizona media for the first time after coming out of a major league outing. He answered every question asked of him thoroughly and thoughtfully. He seemed as if he would have been ready to go right then and there if asked to do so. That's what makes a baseball player great.
"I never really doubted myself. I don't think, as an athlete, you can ever really go into a contest doubting yourself and hoping it turns out for the best. You have to go in planning and knowing that it's going to turn out for the best. If it doesn't, then you make the adjustments and go in with that cockiness next time."
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