This is the latest post for an ongoing media project — SoCal Sports History 101: The Prime Numbers from 00 to 99 that Uniformly, Uniquely and Unapologetically Reveal The Narrative of Our Region’s Athletic Heritage. Pick a number and highlight an athlete — person, place or thing — most obviously connected to it by fame and fortune, someone who isn’t so obvious, and then take a deeper dive into the most interesting story tied to it. It’s a combination of star power, achievement, longevity, notoriety, and, above all, what makes that athlete so Southern California. Quirkiness and notoriety factor in. And it should open itself to more discussion and debate — which is what sports is best at doing.
The most obvious choices for No. 47:
= Clay Matthews III: USC football
= Andy Messersmith: California Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers
= LeRoy Irvin: Los Angeles Rams
= Joey Browner: USC football
The not-so-obvious choices for No. 47:
= Ryan Nece: UCLA football
= Luis Cruz: Los Angeles Dodgers
The most interesting story for No. 52:
Trevor Bauer: UCLA baseball pitcher (2009 to 2011), Los Angeles Dodgers (2021)
Southern California map pinpoints:
North Hollywood; Newhall; Westwood (UCLA); Dodger Stadium
Assume there’s 47 shades of gray by which Trevor Bauer operates.
That’s problematic for someone who often seems to see the world as black and white – he’s right, and the rest of us just don’t understand why that is so.
If we played pseudo psychologist, try to figure out what’s inside the head of this uniquely driven Southern California product – born in North Hollywood, a product of Hart High of Newhall, then to UCLA and, coming off a Cy Young Award, bedazzled the Los Angeles Dodgers into taking a measured risk on him.
Eventually, everything changed in the court of public opinion. Bauer tried to reconstruct his professional resume while working in Japan, or Mexico, or back in Japan, or lately, in South Korea.
A story of local, national and global interest apparently has yet to be resolved, but provides plenty of podcast fodder nonetheless.
The background
It starts with a narrative that Bauer was so bored of high school– or tired of getting bullied for playing baseball – that he graduated after his junior year and early enrolled at UCLA in January of 2009. At Hart High, wearing No. 5, he had apparent teammate issues in 2008 on a team that went 23-7 and included senior Mike Montgomery, whom Bauer would later face in the 2016 Cleveland Indians-Chicago Cubs World Series.
A story in USA Today during that title matchup assessed why Bauer skipped his senior year — “a hostile environment fostered by older players on the team who did not take to Bauer’s brash attitude or his unusual training techniques.”
This would be a constant theme in his progression.
In the three seasons Bauer put in at UCLA — majoring in mechanical engineering and wearing No. 47 — he teamed up with Gerrit Cole to get the Bruins into the College World Series in 2010 as a sophomore. The next year, Bauer won the Golden Spikes Award, National Pitcher of the Year trophy and became the top MLB draft choice by the Arizona Diamondbacks, No. 3 overall.
Voted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021, and still the school’s all-times wins leader with 34 during his 44 starts, Bauer would win the NL Cy Young during the 2020 pandemic season, came as a member of the … let’s see … Cincinnati Reds, right?
Because he couldn’t get along with his Diamondbacks teammates, they traded him in 2012 to Cleveland. Back to wearing No. 47, he became an AL All Star after refining his mechanics. Eventually the organization wasn’t all that enamored with him after he threw a ball over the center field fence from the pitcher’s mound as manager Terry Francona was coming out to remove him from a game in 2019.
Bauer apologized. Rough day, man.
Then came the desperado Dodgers of 2021, who decided Bauer’s truncated Cy season of 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA in 11 starts (and two complete-game shutouts) was worthy of a strange three-year deal – $40 million for ’21, $45 million for ’22 and down to $22.5 million for the ‘23 season.
Was it because they could see this wouldn’t end well?
“This season is about adding to our legacy, and I can’t wait Dodger fans,” Bauer said in the YouTube video, ending on a shot of him wearing a white Dodgers uniform with a new No. 27.
The pivot
For the first few months of his Dodger Stadium residency, the 30-year-old Bauer gave public dissertations on the Dodgers’ TV pregame show about why and how he was able to get a super tacky grip on the baseball. It was created by rosin and sweat. It improved his spin rate. Bauer would even hold his right hand out flat, attach a baseball to his palm, and it looked like a magic trick.
The MLB Protectors of the Game’s Integrity scurried around, and, as the ’21 season was underway, it made umpires check every pitcher for anything that could be deemed part of the process to get more stickiness, even if it had been previous OK.
By early July, Bauer led the NL in innings pitched and strike outs, but battled with a somewhat average 8-5 record and 2.59 ERA after 17 starts.
Then things got really sticky.
Bauer was benched during an extended MLB investigation/suspension — 324 games was the final penalty, then reduced to 194 games after an appeal. The Dodgers cut ties in January of 2023 in what was reported that he didn’t show remorse for his actions.
The impetus was a scandalous relationship he had with (at least) one woman involving a lot of unseemly things in the privacy of their bedrooms, all of which became public knowledge when lawyers were involved and documents were filed.
Listen,we’re not just going to rehash whatever content is there on his public-generated and Bauer-augmented Wikipedia page – there’s the story about how even that was “gloriously hacked” in 2016 because of a blood right pinkie finger he once endured during the American League Championship Series. The injury was a result of slicing the finger open while working on his drone, and the stitches came loose.
The rest of the story
As a member of the Yokomama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball league, donning a ying/yang No. 96 for reasons we’re not sure, Bauer tried to keep things on a positive spin. The team gave him a one-year, $4 million contract. The Dodgers were still on the hook for the rest of his $22.5 million salary for 2023. See how that worked out?
Bauer continued to throw a pitch he said he invented called a reverse slider. He also continued his interesting pregame ritual of playing long toss between the two foul poles, which meant trying to throw the ball nearly 500 feet each time.
His career rehabilitation hasn’t been, how do you say, honky dory.
Bauer’s mind always seems to be racing, just not often harnessed.
If his Twitter/X account expands on his desire to be defined as a free-market capitalist and social liberal, denying climate change, defending the use of Chief Wahoo as the Cleveland mascot and all the other barb exchanges with social media users, he’s owning it. Embrace free thinking. It’s just when court records start showing women accusing him of assaults – consensual or not – and defamation lawsuits filed against those reporting on it, there’s more gray area we’re wading into.
However one wants to shade it. Or throw more shade.
Now, imagine what vending machine quail eggs taste like … 47 if that’s a common number to order.
Among the most recent news on Bauer as he tries to return stateside comes from the Los Angeles Times.
For what it’s worth, Bauer ended the 2024 season as the Mexican League’s Pitcher of the Year honors with a 10-0 mark and 2.48 ERA, striking out 120 in 83 1/3 innings as his Diablos Rojos won the league title. Bauer also set a Mexican League record with 19 strikeouts against the Oaxaca Guerreros on June 21, and struck out nine batters in a row on April 21 against the Leon Bravos. In the postseason, the 33-year-old threw 27 innings, striking out 32 and had a 1.67 ERA.
Via la Trevor.
In 2025, he re-signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. It was reported that by late June, with a 4-7 record, a 4.13 ERA and a league-worst in walks and homers allowed, he needed a time out. His team sent him to its minor leagues.
“I have elite swing-and-miss stuff, but every time I throw it in the zone, it gets hit,” Bauer explained. “I try to throw more on the edges, I don’t get swings out of the zone, and I walk a lot of people. So then, as the game goes along, I try to throw more pitches in the zone, so I don’t walk people, and then everything is a hit.
“I don’t know what else to … I’m completely lost, to be honest. It’s a mixture of frustration and depression. Everything I’ve tried has been unsuccessful. So I don’t know. I have five elite pitches. When I throw them in the zone, they hit like .400 on balls in play. I lead the Central League in strikeouts, but I’ve given up the most hits and the most runs. I don’t know how to rationalize those two things.”
The demotion was perhaps as much as his stats as it was his actions after he was pulled from his last start. He yelled at his pitching coach and left the dugout instead of staying to watch the inning finish.
Never to be seen again?
Who else wore No. 47 in SoCal sports history?
Make a case for:
Clay Matthews III: USC football linebacker/defensive end (2004 to 2008):
The son of former USC and NFL standout Clay Matthews Jr., nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer and USC star offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, grandson of former NFL player Clay Matthews Sr., and younger brother of USC 2003 national title team member Kyle Matthews was hardly a blip on the college recruiters’ iPad when he came out of Agoura High. “I was undersized as a junior and I didn’t even start, and my dad was the D-coordinator, so that alone should speak volumns about where I’ve come from,” Clay III once told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, trying to find out why in 2009 the Green Bay Packers used a first-round pick on him. Matthews III walked on at USC, redshirt a season despite head coach Pete Carroll tempting him to go into games on special teams or as a backup linebacker. His first time on the field was 2005 as a sophomore, finally getting a scholarship.
By the time he was finished, he was USC’s Special Teams Player of the Year in in 2006, ’07 and ’08 and, getting up to 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, broke into the starting lineup as a senior at what was called the hybrid “elephant” position — standing at defensive end, but dropping back as a linebacker depending on the play in front of him. He wound up starting 10 games, and finished fourth on the team with 56 tackles (nine for loss) to go with 4½ sacks. USC teammates Brian Cushing (drafted No. 15 overall by Houston) and Rey Maualuga (drafted No. 38 overall to Cincinnati) got most of the attention on USC’s defense, but Green Bay had plans for him with its 26th overall choice, seeing him as a type of player such as former Los Angeles Rams great Kevin Greene. Matthews III played in six Pro Bowls for Green Bay and was the Packers’ all-time sack leader (83.5) before finishing his career with the Los Angeles Rams, starting 13 games and wearing No. 52 in 2019.
Joey Browner, USC football defensive back (1979 to 1982):
Among the top Trojans players never to be a consensus All-American pick, Browner was a team MVP as a senior having picked up six passes and returning three for touchdowns. His teammates that he was picked from included Charles White, Marcus Allen, Dennis Smith, Ronnie Lott and Anthony Munoz. A first-round NFL draft pick to Minnesota played in 145 games with 37 interceptions and three Pro Bowls and four times on the “All-Madden Team.” He is one of four brothers to make it to the NFL, including Keith Browner (at USC, Class of ’84), Brothers Ross and Jim went to Notre Dame.
Andy Messersmith, California Angels pitcher (1968 to 1972), Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher (1973 to 1975, and 1979):
Known to baseball historians as the first major recipient of the players’ challenging the reserve clause, Messersmith departed from the Dodgers after two All-Star seasons (leading the league with 20 wins on the ’74 World Series team and with 40 starts, 19 complete games and seven shutouts in 321 innings in ’75). As a newly minted free agent, he found his fortune in Atlanta (fortune, at that time, meant a jump from $90,000 in L.A. to three years and a total of $1 million for the Braves). Messersmith’s best story about wearing a particular number came when Braves team owner Ted Turner issued him No. 17 and had the word “Channel” across his back where his last name would be (because, that was supposed to be his new nickname). It reality, it was done to advertise Turner’s local TV station, Channel 17. That didn’t fly with MLB rule makers.
Messersmith won 59 games for the Angels during a career when he was a 1971 All Star and 20-game winner. He was dealt to the Dodgers with third baseman Ken McMullen in exchange for DH Frank Robinson, Bobby Valentine, Bill Singer, Bill Grabarkewitz and Mike Strahler. Messersmith won 55 games for L.A. — that included his final two after he circled back in 1979, closing out a period when he went just 16-15 in three seasons for the Braves and Yankees. Was he worth that big a big deal?
LeRoy Irvin, Los Angeles Rams defensive back/cornerback (1980 to 1989): Also a dazzling punt returner who earned All-Pro status and returned four for TDs, also had 34 interceptions and returned five for TDs. He returned to SoCal as a volunteer assistant at Cal State Northridge in 1992.
Ryan Nece, UCLA football linebacker (1999 to 2001): The son of former USC All-American and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott purposely took the surname of his mother so that it might take some of the pressure off him in his football pursuits as he started at Pacific High in San Bernardino. He began as a his safety but converted to linebacker as a four-year starter and was an All-Pac-10 honorable mention.
Lee Smith, California Angels pitcher (1995 to 1996): Trivia question: There are 13 players in the Baseball Hall of Fame who spent time in an Angels uniform: Bert Blyleven (1989), Rod Carew (1979 to 1985), Vlad Guerrero (2004 to 2009, actually wearing an Angels cap), Rickey Henderson (1997), Reggie Jackson (1982 to 1986), Frank Robinson (1973 to 1974), Nolan Ryan (1972 to 1979), Don Sutton (1985 to 1987), Hoyt Wilhelm (1969), Dave Winfield (1990 to 1991) and Dave Parker (1991). Add Smith to that list. These are the things you learn from the Immaculate Grid game. Smith was inducted into the Hall with a Chicago Cubs hat (where he wore No. 46 from 1980 to ’87) and then wore No. 47 with St. Louis, New York Yankees, Baltimore and Cincinnati.
Luis Cruz, Los Angeles Dodgers infielder (2012 to 2013): For some reason, Dodgers fans loved chanting his name “Cruuuuuuuuz” as he took over playing third base and shortstop as a fill-in between Dee Gordon and Hanley Ramirez in 2012. Cruz drove in a run in each of his first four games, the first in franchise history to do that since Jimmy Wynn (who drove in a run in each of his first six games as a Dodger in 1974.) Cruz hit .297 in 78 games. But the 28-year-old from Mexico, who had played in more than 1,200 minor-league games, didn’t last past the next mid-season. Still, he was a feel-good story. And a cult hero. Cruz was named the Dodgers’ Spanish-language TV analyst for the 2025 season after the passing of Fernando Valenzuela.
Bear Bachmeier, Murietta Valley High School football quarterback (2022-to-’24): The L.A. Times story begins: “Bear Bachmeier of Murrieta Valley might be the only quarterback in America wearing No. 47. … ‘My dad (Michael) always jokes around with me: ‘Once you cross that line of scrimmage, you’re a fullback,’ he said. ‘I think it’s testament to how hard I run the ball. It’s cool to wear No. 47.’ Bachmeier said he wore it starting at 5 years old playing linebacker and running back for the Rancho Panthers growing up in Murrieta. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Bachmeier took Murietta Valley High to the Southern Section Division 2 championship game, losing to Newbury Park, 31-28. Bachmeier finished with 92 yards passing and 66 yards rushing. He signed to play at Stanford in December, 2024, enrolled in January of 2025, entered the transfer portal in April, 2025, and then signed with BYU in May of 2025. At BYU, Bachmeier continued to wear No. 47 and it caught the attention of the New York Times in a story headlined: “Can a jersey number give a player a psychological edge? Just ask the QB who wears 47.” It noted that in 2025, of the 163 FBS quarterbacks who have played 150 snaps this season, Bachmeier is the only one to wear a number above 19. “As humans, we really like having control of our lives, control of our surroundings, and part of that control is controlling your own identity,” said Dr. Chris Stankovich, a sports psychologist who has worked with youth, collegiate and pro athletes. “As an athlete, you think, ‘That is who I am. I am that number.’ And the number for many athletes provides comfort and confidence. Every little edge helps. It might not be a big deal to 6 or 7 year olds, but in high school, college, the pros, if you can get a jump about feeling good with your own identity with this number on your back, why wouldn’t you do it?” Growing up, Bachmeier also wore No. 47 playing baseball and basketball. Hank, the oldest of the five Bachmeier children, wore the No. 19 most of his life. Tiger Bachmeier, Bear’s older brother and a junior wide receiver for BYU, wears 19.
Howie Kendrick, California Angels infielder (2006 to 2014), Los Angeles Dodgers infielder (2015 to 2016): An AL All-Star pick in 2011 for the Angels, the Dodgers had him as a utility player for two seasons before he came back to haunt them in the 2019 playoffs. Kendrick hit a 10th-inning grand slam off Joe Kelly to boost fourth-seeded wildcard Washington to a 7-3 win in Game 5 of the NL Division Series over the favored Dodgers.
Moose Stubbing, California Angels manager (1998): As a player, Stubbing got into five MLB games all as a pinch hitter in 1967 and struck out four times. He played in more than 1,400 min0r league games from 1956 to 1969 before joining the Angels’ coaching staff and minor-league affiliates. In 1988, when the Angels fired Cookie Rojas as their manager, Stubbing took over to end the season — losing the final eight games.
Anyone else worth nominating?
It’s been noted that the number 47 is recurring in episodes of “Star Trek” franchise, going back to 1966 as the TV show that spawned 10 spin-offs and 13 movies. It seems to be connected to writer Joe Menosky, who incorporated 47 as a reference to his time at Pomona College. The story goes that two students did a research project to determine whether No. 47 occurred more often in nature than other numbers. It was never proven. But it was established as Pomona folklore.
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