Harrison Bader gets to live dream in Yankees debut

A kid was born and raised in Westchester. He grew up a Yankees fan. And now he plays for his childhood team.

It is the stuff of storybooks.  

For Harrison Bader, it was not a tale. It became his reality when the 28-year-old outfielder made his Yankees debut in Tuesday night’s 9-8 comeback win over the Pirates at Yankee Stadium.

On a night in which the 40,157  in attendance did not have much to cheer about until a five-run bottom of the ninth that began with Aaron Judge’s 60th home run of the season and was capped by Giancarlo Stanton’s walk-off grand slam, Bader was a bright spot. Batting seventh, he went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and scored a run to account for the Yankees' first four runs.

“Whether it was a catch or a stolen bag or whatever, I was just wanting to be effective for this team and help them win,” Bader said.

As far as first impressions go, it was a good one for the kid from Bronxville, who was playing in his first game  since being acquired from St. Louis for Jordan Montgomery on Aug. 2.  

“It felt good to deliver for this clubhouse,” Bader said.

Especially when he was something of a mystery. The centerfielder had not played a major league game since June 26 because of  plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He had a six-game rehab stint for Double-A Somerset and went 6-for-21 with a homer before being activated off the 60-day injured list.

In 72 games with the Cardinals this season, Bader hit .256 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and 35 runs scored. Entering Tuesday night’s game,  he had hit .246 with 52 home runs, 168 RBIs and 226 runs scored in his major league career.

“My expectation is that we’re getting a good player into our lineup, so I'm really excited about that,” Aaron Boone said during his pregame news conference. “I know he’s been chomping at the bit for a while. I feel like his rehab over the last week has gone really well. He’s been able to rack up some at-bats. He feels like he’s moving really well.”

The 2021  Gold Glove winner among National League centerfielders is considered an elite defender and has a strong arm, but he contributed with his bat and legs Tuesday night.

In the fifth, Bader grounded an RBI  single to leftfield to tie the score at 1-1. With one out, he got a tremendous read on a flare to centerfield by Jose Trevino that fell just in front of Bryan Reynolds and scored from second with a headfirst dive.

With runners on second and third and one out in the sixth, Bader punched a two-run single to rightfield to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.  

“He’s been really encouraged over the last couple weeks about where he’s at and how he’s felt,” Boone said. “Kind of getting over that hump so we just want him to go out and play his game. And that’s being athletic in the center of the field. I think he’s been looking forward to this day.”

The manager was prescient.

“I felt very comfortable,” Bader said. “The fans in New York are very sweet. I love their cheers. It was just a great win. It was beautiful. It was a beautiful night. I felt super-comfortable.”