The Yankees took a three-run lead as Harrison Bader hit a home run. There is a time and a place. Harrison was surprised to find out that his childhood dream was coming true. He had spent the past five and a half seasons in St. Louis as a member of the Cards. When he was called up in 2017, he became a fan favorite. He was told by the ownership and front office that he was part of the core of the team. He was the King of the event. He befriended politicians like Brian Williams and was trying to bring a golf event to St. Louis. He knew his time in St. Louis was over when he got a call from the president of baseball operations. "Say it's not so, Mo," he said. The location of the trade was Bronxville, New York. When the Yankees won the World Series in 2009, he imagined that they would do the same. As the news of his new home leaked out, his phone was flooded with text messages from his friends at the private school. Most of his high school friends were excited to see him return to play for the hometown team. He expressed frustration to his friend. "I know why they did it," Bader said. I'm going to show them that this was a bad decision. Complicating factors were present. Before he ever played a game in pinstripes, Bader faced skepticism from the same fans he used to root for, who wondered why the front office would trade a left-handed starting pitcher for a right-handed one. The Yankees struggled after the deal, posting a 10-18 record in August and losing their lead in the division to four. Over the course of four starts, Montgomery had a 0.35 earned run average. The only thing Bader could do was wait to heal and play when the time was right. He made it through. The Yankees fans have been impressed by the Gold Glove defense of Bader since he made his debut. In a hard-fought ALDS that goes to a deciding Game 5 on Monday night in the Bronx, Bader has hit solo homers in the first two games and a two-run home run in the fourth. His first three home runs were for the Yankees. I felt like I pressed the reset button when I arrived in New York. Harrison was a big fan of his hair. The players in the NHL who have their flow visible from underneath their helmets inspired him to grow out his hair. He liked that his hair made himFkaFkaFka. He loved that when he made a diving play in the field, his hat flew out of his head. The fans liked it so much that they created a account dedicated to his locks. The Yankees have a grooming policy that forbids all players, coaches and male executives from growing their hair below the collar and from showing facial hair other than mustaches. It was symbolic for the man. He had to cut off his hair. There was nothing to think about. It was a pleasure to do it. I had a great time in St. Louis, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. This October, we have the latest schedules, results, news and analysis. There is a preview of the post season.
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It took weeks for Bader to really understand how his life had changed. He moved back north after selling his home in St Louis. After walking into the Yankee locker room for the first time, he didn't fully feel the weight of it all until he healed from his injury.
He didn't really process it until he got to batting practice and wearing a uniform. He didn't fully comprehend it until he made his debut.
The Yankees thought it was wise to trade for him despite his injury because the success of the playoffs felt like validation for him. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Bader that he expected the outfielder to be an impact player for New York, but he wasn't the only one asking. It would take time for Montgomery to win over his new teammates, even though he was popular in the Yankees' locker room.
His ability to succeed on the field would be hampered if he focused on things outside of his control.
The next opportunity is what you focus on. You relieve yourself of all of the other anxiety.
He wears bright graphic T-shirts and sneakers like the Nike Ben & Jerry's collaboration Chunky Dunkys, which resells on the secondary market for as much as $5,000. New teammates describe him as outgoing, someone who's always talking to people around him.
After joining the team, Cole noticed the presence of Bader.
Cole said that he is electric. The impact player is an electric player. Get baseball awareness. He gets after the ball. There are a lot of positive things to say about that guy.
He wanted to get to know Judge. While the two needed to get to know each other in order to communicate, Bader also liked the way Judge carried himself off the field.
I want to get close to him and do what he does, but not in a weird way. I'm spending a lot of time with that man.
He saw Judge's calm demeanor and wanted to adopt it for himself.
Last week, Bader said that he wanted to surround himself with him. He is part of the unit that moves out there. We are going to be working next to each other so let's talk. We want to be the best version of ourselves for this team.
He returned to his high school routine of getting a bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel in the morning, grabbing a slice from his favorite pizza joint and attending the wedding of a high school friend. Caridad Express is a Dominican restaurant in the Bronx that he goes to with his off-season training partner.
Usually on the field, Bader tries to keep his emotions to a minimum, hoping that he can play better. As his first home run as a Yankee sailed over the left-field fence in Game 1 of the ALCS, Bader couldn't help but relish the moment.
It was difficult when everyone was cheering, but you don't want to detract from the game. It was a pleasure. As soon as it was over, I was happy and locked in.
During his time at the University of Florida, the coach preached to his players that the baseball doesn't have any emotion, doesn't take the situation into account, and doesn't care how many fans are.
Bader said it was completely emotionless. I try to act like that.
While playing for your childhood team it's easy to get distracted by wanting to be the hero and hit the big home run. In August, when he was the new guy who couldn't help his team win, keeping his mind off all that helped him.
He said that he wasn't ready to play. It wouldn't have been a version of myself that would have been effective for myself and my teammates if I had played that way. I was able to keep working because of that reality.
The Yankees are in danger of being eliminated in Game 5. He doesn't want to think about it for too long.
It is a conscious decision to not get too high or too low. The next opportunity is everything. When the next opportunity arises, you have to be completely still and relaxed.
The opportunity is now for the Yankees.
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