When Trevor Bauer came across Megan Aronson’s tweet about the difficult year her son had endured because of persistent bullying, he and the Los Angeles Dodgers sprung into action and offered to host the family for a visit to Camelback Ranch.
That came to fruition for the Dodgers’ final Cactus League game, as Aronson, her husband, son Kanon and his three siblings were in the stands for a matchup with the Cleveland Indians. It coincided with Bauer making his final spring start, and he spoke with the family prior to taking the mound.
“I was made aware he’s kind of had a rough year in school, getting bullied. That’s a story I can identify with because that was my entire childhood,” Bauer said. “I got bullied mercilessly, I hated going to school and I was miserable for 17 years of my life.
“Just wanted to try to do something special for him and give him some hope that things get better, keep being himself and all that. Signed a jersey for him, got some hats for the family, got tickets for them to come out and try to have a positive experience.
“It was a beautiful day and they got to see an entertaining ballgame, so hopefully it makes a positive impact.”
Awareness surrounding Kanon’s situation has spread across sports and outside the industry as well. He has received well wishes from Starbucks, “Hamilton” actors, the L.A. Kings and Phoenix Coyotes, among others.
“I think it was a really cool moment for them,” Bauer said of the family attending a Dodgers game. “I was actually able to connect with his father a little bit. His father went to Saugus High School, I went to Hart High School. We’re in the same league. Saugus is 10-15 minutes from where I grew up, so we were able to connect on that. He lived in Castaic, I was in Valencia.
“Hopefully there’s a little bit of inspiration for the kid to see, ‘This guy playing on the field is kind of like my dad. He came over and we’re important to him.’ I remember going to games with my dad as a kid and what a fun experience that was for me to be able to bond with my dad. So hopefully there was some family bonding that went on with it.
“They all seemed really excited and appreciative, which is great. Ultimately, I don’t need that. That’s not why I did it. I just hope to provide some inspiration to him and hopefully make their family happy and bring some joy to their lives.”
Bauer downplays Spring Training statistics
Bauer had some early struggles Saturday but managed to settle in and get through 5.2 innings pitched. He allowed four runs (three earned) and gave up a home run in a third consecutive start.
“What matters in Spring Training is how you feel physically, that you’re healthy, that you got the pitch count where it needs to be, that you got enough up-downs and that you’re executing pitches,” Bauer said.
“There’s no gameplanning in Spring Training. It’s not like you’re looking at a scouting report and going out there and saying, ‘OK, against this guy we’re going to sequence this way.’
“I mean, I was telling José Ramirez what pitchers were coming. We were using just one sign with guys on second base. It’s all about getting your work in.”
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