"This needs to be a 3-pitch K" - Trevor Bauer takes on batter in his first-ever live at-bat

Trevor Bauer might not be on his way back to Major League Baseball, however this has not slowed down the pitcher's second career as a social media personality. The former National League Cy Young Award winner has continued to see his online presence grow over the years, as Bauer uses his personality and baseball skills to make attention grabbing videos and clips.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers star creates a variety of interesting videos that not only incorporate baseball, but also allow him to make jokes and highlight is fun side. One of his most popular types of videos is when he challenges players and fellow personalities to live at-bats, including Los Angeles Angels top prospect Christian Moore and social media star Eric Sim, also known as the King of JUCO.

In Bauer's latest video, the former Cincinnati Reds ace took on someone who has never taken a live at-bat in their lives. The batter, who is named Ian in the video, had the rare opportunity of making his baseball debut against a former All-Star and Cy Young Award winner.

"How many people in the world can say they took their first at-bat off someone who won a Cy Young Award?" the catcher in the video asked.

"This needs to be a 3-pitch strikeout," Bauer said to the camera before beginning the at-bat.

For a player like Trevor Bauer, he could not afford to let a first time batter record a hit off of him. So, perhaps as expected, Bauer got an early lead in the at-bat by throwing a fastball straight down the middle with Ian watching it without swinging.

On second pitch, Bauer was able to induce a half-hearted swing, recording an 0-2 count. The swing, which looked more like a half cutting chop with the bat, drew a puzzling response from Eric Sim, who was cheering from the sidelines.

"What kind of swing is that?" Sim asked.

On the 0-2 count, Bauer was not messing around with potentially missing the zone. The former All-Star threw yet another pitch straight down the center of the strikezone with the batter watching the called third strike, ending the at-bat with next to no fight.

Trevor Bauer will return to Japan for the upcoming season

Despite having a tremendous season in the Mexican League last year with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico, Trevor Bauer was seemingly unable to secure another MLB contract, instead opting to return to Japan to continue his pitching career. Bauer will return to the Yokohama DeNA Baystars, the same club he pitched with back in 2023.

It remains to be seen if Trevor Bauer will ever get another opportunity with an MLB club, however, if he can prove himself in NPB, it could be another step towards a potential return. If it does not happen, it's clear that he has a pretty good grasp of being a social media influencer.