Overview:
Shane Bieber, star pitcher of the Gauchos’ College World Series team of 2016, went 1-1 at this year’s MLB World Series
Shane Bieber shocked the world.
UC Santa Barbara’s former ace pitcher would have rather locked up the World Series just four days earlier, but he’s not ready to move on.
Bieber was the last one standing on the Toronto Blue Jays’ mound when Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith smashed his big moment to, ahem, smithereens.
Smith launched Bieber’s two-ball, no-strike slider into the Blue Jays’ bullpen for a series-clinching home run in the 11th inning of Game 7 on Nov. 1.
But more shocking was Bieber’s Nov. 5 announcement that he was forgoing the riches of free agency to give it another try with Toronto.
Baseball insiders estimate that the 30-year-old righthander was forfeiting between $10 million and $15 million per year by exercising the option to continue his old, two-year contract at $16 million per annum.
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, two of baseball’s biggest spenders, were both reportedly eager to make a pitch for his services.
Bieber, winner of the 2020 American League Cy Young Award, increased his value by leaps and mounds with his successful return from Tommy John elbow surgery in late-August.
He posted a win-loss record of 4-2 and earned-run average of 3.57 in seven regular-season starts for the Blue Jays after the Cleveland Guardians traded him on July 31.
It didn’t quite match his eight-year, career mark of 3.24 but was remarkable nonetheless considering Bieber’s long hiatus. He hadn’t pitched in a Major League Baseball game for the previous 16 months.
Shane Bieber has logged a win-loss record of 66-34 and earned-run average of 3.24 with 995 strikeouts over 883⅓ innings during his eight seasons in Major League Baseball. Credit: Toronto Blue Jays photo
He also fashioned a solid 3.86 ERA in five postseason starts, highlighted by his pitching win over Dodger “supasuta” Shohei Ohtani in Game 4 of the World Series.
Bieber not only out-pitched the National League’s MVP, he cooled off his red-hot bat by striking him out twice in three at-bats.
He allowed just four hits and one run in 5⅓ innings.
Ohtani gave Bieber a tip of his Dodger cap during the post-game news media conference by saying, “We’re facing the best of the best, so I think it’s not that easy.”
Baseball America’s Eli Ben-Porat projected that Bieber would parlay his 2025 comeback into a fat, five-year contract worth $150 million.
Spotrac, a website that calculates the market values of professional athletes, estimated Bieber’s value to be $97 million over four years.
Leaving that kind of money on the table “baffled” MLB executives, according to Ken Rosenthal, the bow-tied, field reporter for Fox Sports’ MLB telecasts.
One of those unnamed bigwigs described Bieber’s decision as even being “the most bizarre in recent memory.”
“I was surprised,” Rosenthal added. “People with the Blue Jays were surprised. People in the industry were surprised.
“He could have declined the option, taken a $4 million buyout — so he’s $4 million ahead — and then, in free agency, I would think … three years, $50 million, maybe even more.
“But for whatever reason, he wants to be in Toronto one more year.”
Rosenthal’s first thought was that the Blue Jays had promised Bieber a future contract extension, but club insiders claimed it hadn’t even been discussed.
“So, it’s curious,” Rosenthal said. “I don’t exactly know what Shane Bieber was thinking.
“Obviously he liked it there … But he still could have leveraged that into, ‘ah, one or two more years, guys. Let’s do it.’ At least to this point, he hasn’t done that.”
Blue Jays of Happiness
Bieber hinted at his reluctance to leave Toronto at the start of the World Series when asked how he’d feel about shopping for a new team in free agency.
“It’ll be very emotional,” he replied.
An ill-fated pitch to Will Smith ratcheted up those feelings.
Shane Bieber and wife Kara, who met while they were both students at UCSB, welcomed son Kav to their family in March. Credit: Bieber family photo
“This group is unlike any other I’ve been a part of,” Bieber said with emotion after his Game 7 defeat.
It’s been an emotional year all around for the Bieber family.
His wife, Kara, gave birth to their first child, son Kav, just eight months ago.
Kara shared their feelings about the Blue Jay family in an Instagram post.
“I’ll never forget how Shane and I would be almost giddy after games, just talking about how lucky we felt to be surrounded by such incredible humans,” she wrote.
“I’d tell him how amazing the women were, and he’d smile and say the same about the guys,” she continued. “We felt so welcomed from the moment we got to Canada. It’s something we’ll cherish forever.”
It’s a theme that Bieber has repeated every time he’s been asked about his Blue Jay experience.
“Obviously the first time I’ve ever been traded, so I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “Ultimately, I feel like the organization, the families within it, my teammates, their families, have helped my wife and I acclimate better than I have expected.
“There’s a lot of love in that room.”
He also loves winning. Toronto gives him a sporting chance of becoming a champion of the America pastime next season with a gritty bunch of teammates led by superstar Vladimir Guerrero.
“Nobody ever wavers, nobody ever hesitates,” Bieber said. “It’s the same group of guys every day that continue to put the work in, continue to compete, continue to rely on each other.
“And it’s an absolute pleasure to play for them.”
Gaucho Recall
Andrew Checketts, the coach who talked Bieber into walking on at UCSB without a scholarship 12 years ago, wasn’t as surprised as most about his decision.
“There’s a bird in the hand there,” he said, revising the old “worth two-in-a-bush” adage.
“It sounds like he had a great experience in Toronto. It sounds like his family had a great experience.
“And you know, you don’t mess with happy … Good for him.”
Checketts figures that Bieber values another good chance at a World Series ring more than a hefty pay raise.
“He feels like they have a chance to win,” he said. “He’s had a couple of chances to chase the money and, at this point, hasn’t, so it’s not surprising.”
Bieber made a similar decision after finishing his freshman season of 2014 as one of UCSB’s starting pitchers.
He asked Checketts for a scholarship for the following school year, but all of the Gauchos’ money had been committed to other players.
But Bieber declined to pursue a scholarship elsewhere and remained at UCSB.
Shane Bieber, in the dugout during the 2016 College World Series, remained at UCSB without a scholarship for two seasons before leading the Gauchos to Omaha in his junior year. Credit: UCSB Athletics photo
“He pitched here for free for two years,” Checketts said. “He came to Santa Barbara for free and his parents had to pay his way.
“They probably weren’t comfortable making that decision based on the investment they’d have to put into it.
“But it looks like during the course of his career, he’s made decisions on who he’s going to be around and where he wants to be, and this kind of lines up with that.”
Bieber pitched UCSB to a top NCAA Regional seeding in 2015 and, when finally put on scholarship, to the College World Series in 2016.
He helped the Gauchos get to Omaha with a 4-2 pitching win at the NCAA SuperRegionals over a Louisville team led by a catcher named Will Smith.
Yeah, that Will Smith.
The Dodgers are the consensus pick of betting outlets to repeat as World Series champs next year.
The Blue Jays aren’t as much of a sure bet to meet them again as the American League representative. The betting bosses rank them fourth in line behind the Yankees, Red Sox and Seattle Mariners.
But their odds improved from 20-to-1 to 16-to-1— leapfrogging them ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers — as soon as Bieber announced his return to Toronto.
Checketts laughed when asked if that decision had lessened the odds of Bieber building him a new baseball stadium at UCSB.
“He’s been a great ambassador for our program,” he replied. “We’re excited for him and happy for him.
“It sounds like he doesn’t make decisions based on money, which I think is pretty cool.”
It may make the world go round, but it all ends with the World Series for Shane Bieber.