SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Pitching great Dave Stewart, livid about the Los Angeles Dodgers’ refusal to discipline starter Trevor Bauer until Major League Baseball placed him on administrative leave on Friday, has informed team officials he will not attend their 40th World Series championship anniversary.
Bauer was given a temporary restraining order last week after it was requested by a 27-year-old woman who has told police in Pasadena, California that she was raped and assaulted by Bauer earlier this season. No charges have been field as he remains under criminal investigation.
Bauer, through his attorney Jon Fetterolf, has denied the allegations.
“The organization isn’t what it was when we came through,’’ Stewart, a rookie relief pitcher on the 1981 World Series team, told USA TODAY Sports. “The Dodgers organization that I grew up in under the O’Malley family would never stand for that. The Dodgers should have stepped up in that situation, and they didn’t. You’ve got to have character standards.
“I told them, 'I can’t show up for that.’ "
When Stewart informed the Dodgers he won’t be attending the July 25 celebration, he said he received an e-mail that read: “The team and the Players Associations support the player until he’s guilty.’’
Stewart said he responded in all caps: “HE BROKE THE UNWRITTEN RULE ON HOW YOU SHOULD TREAT WOMEN!"
Stewart, 64, who grew up with six sisters, said he was horrified when he saw pictures from the temporary restraining order request submitted by the woman that show her with two black eyes, a badly scratched face, a bloody lip and swollen jaw.
USA TODAY Sports' policy is to not identify individuals who allege sexual crimes without their permission.
The temporary restraining order request was filed Tuesday, the document went public Wednesday and the Dodgers announced Thursday that Bauer would pitch as scheduled Sunday against the Washington Nationals.
On Friday, MLB placed Bauer on a paid seven-day administrative leave. MLB is expected to submit a request to the Major League Baseball Players Association to extend the leave an additional seven days under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Dodgers say they were awaiting MLB to make a decision, but Stewart said the Dodgers should have acted first and suspended Bauer. There is recent precedent for such action. Cleveland placed starting pitchers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list in August when they broke team rules by leaving their hotel and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus. The Washington Nationals suspended closer Jonathan Papelbon for four games for starting a fight with outfielder Bryce Harper in 2015.
“The Dodgers let MLB enforce the leave of absence,’’ Stewart said, “but in my opinion, you don’t need to wait for MLB to tell you what to do. Why are you putting your hands on a woman that way? He tries to say it was consensual, but what kind of person would ever do that?"
Fetterolf said in a statement last week that encounters Bauer had with the woman were "wholly consensual."
"Her basis for filing a protection order is nonexistent, fraudulent, and deliberately omits key facts, information, and her own relevant communications," Fetterolf said. "Any allegations that the pair's encounters were not 100% consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law."
A hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court is scheduled for July 23 at which point Bauer can formally dispute the allegations.
Pasadena police have been investigating the case for six weeks, and told USA TODAY Sports on Friday the investigation is “bigger than we thought," according to Lt. Carolyn Gordon.
Bauer, 30, signed a three-year, $102 million free agent contract in February with the Dodgers, and is the highest-paid player in baseball this year with his $40 million guarantee. He will be paid as long as he’s under administrative leave, but not if he is suspended by MLB.
“I know they owe him a lot of money, but the right thing is to distance yourself from that guy," Stewart said. "I don’t want him in my clubhouse. If you’re a teammate, you can’t support him. And if you’re a teammate supporting him, what are you standing for?
“If it wasn’t for his contract, he’d be gone. But even with the money they owe him, you can’t allow him to perform for you and act like nothing happened. You just can’t."
Stewart says he discussed his reason for not attending the ceremony with only a few of his closest friends. Former teammate Davey Lopes isn’t going to the ceremony either, but for a myriad of reasons. Stewart isn’t trying to discourage anyone else from going, but in his heart, knows he can’t step into Dodger Stadium and represent the organization.
“I was really looking forward to it, too,’’ said Stewart, a three-time World Series champion and four-time 20-game winner, who later became a pitching coach for the San Diego Padres and general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It would have been great to see all of my former teammates from my first World Series team. And although Tommy Lasorda wouldn’t have been there, it would have been great to hear his name, and see what they’ll do for him.
“It was an honor to play for the Dodgers. It was such a special organization. I mean, families were always allowed to fly on the team plane. Kids were running around the clubhouse like it was Disneyland. That was the Dodger tradition. They stood for character."
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