When Harrison Bader was dealt to his hometown New York Yankees at the trade deadline, he knew he was still weeks away from getting a chance to play – but he also knew that when he did come back, he was coming to a team that, like the Cardinals, was in a postseason push.
And perhaps he delivered the most important moment of Game 1 of the ALDS for the Yankees: a solo homer in the bottom of the third, which tied the game at 1-1 after a top of the inning where Gerrit Cole allowed a solo shot and wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam.
“That was tremendously important. You know, you can do it offensively, or defensively, or on the mound, but momentum is really big in these games, and answering back kind of shifts momentum,” Bader said. “We saw some good defense that allowed to us retain the momentum. I think momentum plays a large part in it and it's up to whoever is attacking aggressively to try to shift it the best you can.”
Even better: it was his first home run as a Yankee, which made the moment even sweeter – although he tried to hide it a little bit.
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“It means a lot, but to me, truthfully, really it was just another at-bat, just another game. I try to show as little emotion as possible just to remain composed. You like to kind of bottle up emotion to propel yourself forward, so I truly do like to play the game emotionless,” Bader said. “My coach at Florida, Brad Weitzel, would say just be the baseball, play the baseball. The baseball has no emotion. It doesn't take into account the situation. It doesn't take into account how many fans are in the stands. It is totally emotionless. So I try to act that way.”
He knew, though, it meant a lot to the “triple digits” of friends and family in the stands.
“When I do think about it for a second, you know, it does mean a lot to my parents. My dad's dad was a very big Yankees fan, so I'm sure he would be very proud of this moment,” Bader said. “I think all of those things are very nice, but there's such a long road ahead in October, that I will save all of those emotions for a later date. But no doubt it's special. I will acknowledge that for a second.”
Mission failed, though, because he wasn’t fully able to hide that emotion as he rounded the bases.
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“Outs are really hard to come by, so kind of letting it out, I think, would detract from anything that might come later in the game. It was really hard when everybody was cheering, admittedly. It was a great moment. I enjoyed it,” Bader said. “But again, as soon as it was over, it's right back to locking in. There was a lot of game left at that time. You know, obviously I was up next to go and play on defense. That was my only focus as soon as I kind of let the roller coaster play its course.”
Clearly, he heard the capacity crowd at Yankee Stadium going bananas.
“Yeah, no doubt, I absolutely took that in. That was great, the energy from the fans, it was just amazing. When you have such an incredible fan base, fans that are just rabid and want to win as badly as Yankees fans do, it's almost like you're playing with them on the field,” Bader said. “They’re on your team as you go into the dugout, as the opposition feels pressure with two strikes. That's the type of energy that is a part of a winning history of a city, and the fans showed up Game 1. Yeah, I mean, again, it's going to be a long road but I know that they are going to be there the entire time, so I'm just looking forward to it.”
What was most important to him, however, was that he was able to contribute twice in the inning, having cut off a ball in the gap in the top of the inning that eventually prevented a run.
“I knew the speed of the runners on the bases, but my concern was preventing the ball from getting on the warning track and just getting it in as quickly as possible. Once you transition the ball into the infielder, it normally shuts down the third base coach. And especially in that situation, they had some outs to play with. They didn't need to necessarily be, you know, forcing something, if you will. So everything is just timing. All of these situations will come down to little plays like that. I'm just happy that I got an opportunity to make a good play for my team, and the pitching delivered.”
So what exactly, then, was he thinking as he rounded the bases?
“Just make sure you touch every base, truthfully. You know, one task at a time. Once you touch all the bases, then you can kind of give a little love to the fans, and your teammates,” he smiled.
Even if he got a little heat from one of those teammates.
“Judgey told me I ran a little too fast,” Bader laughed. “Baseball is a game of repetition. When you make contact, I was aware there was a home run, but again, anything can happen, who knows. So you want to just put your head down and run. You play the game hard and you play respectfully, and obviously once I saw it go out, I slowed down a little bit. Judgey, he's hit so many towering home runs, as soon as he clips it, he knows he's got it. I haven't hit a home run in a long time, so I have to work back into it; I'm easing my way back into it.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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