Trevor Bauer's Try-Hard Antics on the Mound Are a Tired Act and He Needs to Move on

Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer is the definition of an enigma. On one hand, he's willing to call out players and league officials he disagrees with while engaging with fans on a wide variety of issues, which can be entertaining. On the other hand, his mouth and animated personality on the mound can rub some the wrong way.

In his latest stunt that serves as another example of trying WAY too hard to stand out, Bauer was trying to signal to Dodgers hitter Matt Beaty what pitch was coming during an at-bat, which many perceived as a dig at the Houston Astros.

This is funny, charitably speaking, once. However, we shouldn't encourage more outbursts from him on the mound, especially when this is coming against a 26-year-old player who has only appeared in 99 career games. At that point, it looks like an insult. Let's keep these digs at the Astros short and sweet, kind of like what Anthony Rizzo did on Monday when he was mic'd up. We've heard enough from Bauer ranging from his callout of the commissioner to his lengthy Youtube videos yelling at a camera about what Houston did. While fans certainly appreciate his opposition to cheating, he was hardly adversely affected by it. Yankees and Dodgers players were hit the hardest and they should be taking centerstage. Not someone whose team unloaded him to Cincinnati because they couldn't handle his attitude anymore.

Bauer doesn't have to totally shut up and get rid of his trademark personality, but he is going overboard in trying to appear like he's some lone renegade and solitary figure in the entire baseball world with these acts on the mound.

Bauer's willingness to dance to his own beat is admirable, and he should be commended for helping baseball fans get a peek behind the curtain at what really goes on in an MLB clubhouse, but his ego is getting a bit too large, especially for a pitcher with a 4.48 ERA. His antics on the mound are bordering on the silly, and he needs to knock it off because we're getting sick of it.