Trevor Bauer just gets it.
The brash, outspoken Dodgers pitcher gave up not one, but two home runs to Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. on Saturday night.
As he rounded the bases on the first homer, Tatis covered one of his eyes with his hand.
It was a not-so-veiled shot at Bauer, who pitched to the Padres with one eye closed during spring training.
On the second dinger, Tatis flipped his bat and had an extra skip in his step as he rounded third base.
So, what did Bauer do to respond?
Did he throw a pitch at Tatis or another Padres teammate?
Did he talk trash?
Did he throw a temper tantrum on the mound?
Nope.
He took his medicine.
In his post-game presser, Bauer lauded Tatis, saying he liked the trolling and the swagger.
He thinks it’s good for the game, and that pitchers who throw at hitters to retaliate for success are “soft.”
He’s 1000% right.
This is exactly the type of mentality that baseball needs.
You should be able to celebrate your successes without having to worry about getting pegged.
And just like Tatis hot-dogged his homers, Bauer should be able to do the same after big-time strikeouts.
It’s supposed to be fun.
This new generation of players just gets it.
Good on both Bauer and Tatis for advancing the game over the weekend.