Baseball Has a Bizarre 9/11 Controversy

It's the weirdest controversy of the young baseball season. Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer is fending off accusations that he used his cleats to make a statement on the mound about the 9/11 attacks, reports Cleveland.com. "Checked Twitter to see a bunch of people making ridiculous accusations," Bauer wrote after a game Tuesday in Chicago. Bauer says he did indeed write a message—you can kind of see it here—and it read "BD 91.1." But some on Twitter read it as "BD 911" and interpreted that as a reference to the conspiracy theory meme "Bush Did 9/11," per the New York Post.

That's just nuts, says Bauer. So what does BD 91.1 mean? Bauer isn't providing details, but it's apparently a reference to a friend who trains with him. “It’s a personal thing with me and a close friend of mine and training," he told reporters. "That’s it. It has nothing to do with anything else." Bauer broached the topic with reporters before being asked a single question, saying he needed to "clear the air." For the record, the KnowYourMeme blog notes that "Bush Did 9/11" is usually used to mock those who think the government had some role in the attacks. (More Cleveland Indians stories.)