Harrison Bader

Harrison Joseph Bader

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
• School University of Florida
• High School Horace Mann School
• Debut July 25, 2017

• Born June 3, 1994 in Bronxville, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Harrison Bader starred at the University of Florida and played for the Gators in the 2015 College World Series. He was taken in the 3rd round of the 2015 amateur draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bader made his big league debut on July 25, 2017, starting in center field against the Colorado Rockies. He went 1 for 4, his first major league hit being a double to lead off the 9th inning against Jake McGee. He scored the winning run in a 3-2 win when Jedd Gyorko hit a short sacrifice fly. He had been called up before the game when starting center fielder Dexter Fowler had been placed on the disabled list. Bader put up a fine batting line of .264/.334/.422 in 138 games in 2018, regressing sharply to a .205/.314/.366 line with stints in Triple A in 2019.

In January 2022, finding himself with some free time during the 2021-2022 lockout and with the local school system under pressure due to a surge in COVID-19 cases among teachers, he worked as a substitute teacher at Meramec Elementary School in Clayton, MO, teaching physical education. He explained that he got the job through a friend who had a connection with the district superintendent, and that he would not have been qualified to teach any other subject, but felt comfortable working with kids in the school gym. On May 10th that season, he hit the first inside-the-park homer by a Cardinals player in over 20 years, off Kyle Bradish of the Baltimore Orioles. The last Cardinals player to hit one had been Fernando Vina, back in 2001, and the last to hit one at home had been Vince Coleman in 1985.

Notable Achievements

• 2018 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• NL Gold Glove Winner (2021/CF)

Further Reading

• Jeff Jones (Belleville News-Democrat): "School kids show up to class to find this St. Louis Cardinals star as their substitute", Yahoo! News, January 16, 2022. [1]
• Mike Petriello: "The best outfielder you don't know enough about: Bader has added more fielding value than any other OF defender", mlb.com, August 14, 2018. [2]

Related Sites

• Harrison Bader on mlb.com