TORONTO: It’s not every year one of the starting pitchers for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series brings a drone to his news conference to explain his injury situation.
Welcome to the ALCS, and the 2016 Indians.
Trevor Bauer had the assailant behind his lacerated pinkie finger with him on Sunday, the one that warranted 10 stitches and forced the Indians to bump his ALCS start back from Game 2 to Monday’s Game 3 in Toronto.
“Yeah, I brought my friend to answer any questions about what happened that I can’t answer,” he said.
Bauer — a self-proclaimed nerd known for his analytical views of baseball — explained on Sunday that he was working on a drone that he custom-built, just like he’s done for the past three or so years since they caught his eye as a hobby as an extension of his love of Star Wars.
When he plugged it in Thursday night, one of the four propellers spun faster than it was supposed to, and Bauer’s finger was in the way.
“It never happened to me before,” Bauer said. “I have no idea why it happened. And my finger just happened to be in the way of the prop and it cut me.”
It’s become one of the quirkier stories of not just the ALCS but the 2016 season across baseball. The Indians’ hope — and belief — is that it will be nothing more than a silly mistake and not something that ends up costing them in the biggest series for the club in nine years.
Both Bauer and Indians manager Terry Francona said they believe Bauer’s cut finger won’t be an issue in Game 3. The concern is that the finger could start bleeding, which would force his exit since it’s on his throwing hand. It isn’t believed that it will affect his pitches. A couple days removed, the Indians said they believe it will be a “non-issue” besides having to flip-flop Bauer and Josh Tomlin in the rotation.
“I really don’t think this is going to affect his start one way or another, whether he gets them out or doesn’t,” Francona said. “I don’t think this is going to be a big deal.”
Bauer was remorseful when speaking to his teammates and coaches, per Francona. He’s relieved it didn’t cost him his first chance to start in the ALCS.
“Obviously you feel bad,” Bauer said. “I want to go out and be able to make my start and help the team any way that I can. I was really looking forward to pitching on Saturday. Just one of those things, freak accident you can’t really control. And try to maintain a positive attitude the whole time. Literally I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to pitch at some point in the series. I got pretty lucky.”
The Indians’ mantra for the last several weeks has been overcoming obstacles. This, though, was one of the weirder ones.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.