AL DIVISION SERIES: GUARDIANS VS YANKEES

October 11, 2022

Harrison Bader

Yankee Stadium

New York Yankees

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Yankees - 4, Guardians, 1

Q. Harrison, when you get traded here, you know it's going to be awhile until you play. Do you envision a day like today is coming to kind of get you through the period until you are able to play?

HARRISON BADER: Definitely. Visualization is a large part of success, especially when you have a long plan ahead of you as I did in returning to the field at a physical state which I could be effective, and that was going to take some time.

So just day-by-day, just visualizing moments like this, what the grass feels like what it feels like to run, all these little thing, definitely played a part in confidently returning.

Q. You had a few reactions going around the bases. Can you walk us through the progression of your thoughts as you're running at that point?

HARRISON BADER: Yeah, 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.

And 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. And 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.

Q. How important was it to answer back immediately in the bottom of the inning of Kwan's homer?

HARRISON BADER: It's tremendously important. You know, you can do it offensively. You can do it defensively. You can do it on the mound. Momentum is really big in these games, taking care of the baseball is really big in these games, and answering back kind of shifts momentum. We saw some good defensive play that Ozzie made, a couple double plays that allowed to us retain the momentum.

So yeah, I mean, 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.

Q. How did the emotion of getting to start center field for the Yankees in a playoff game compare to what you were expecting or growing up?

HARRISON BADER: Yeah, it was everything I expected it could be. I prepared myself for it mentally. It's an atmosphere that I'm very familiar with in terms of I had been present here. I haven't obviously been on the field, but I do understand what it means to be successful here, and I do understand the mental side, especially this is my fourth playoff and fourth postseason appearance.

Every time I like to think that the experience, you just get better and better. There's a lot of emotion, there's no doubt, but it's all noise. And I'm just fortunate that I've had a lot of people, namely my parents, my friends and a lot of people that have helped me get last year to channel that energy appropriately and understand how to use it properly to be successful and not get distracted, because it's very easy.

So yeah, it's a team effort at all times.

Q. The one run that you guys manufactured tonight, Judge gets a walk, steals second and goes to third, you probably knew coming here about his homers and he's a complete player. Does his baserunning surprise you at all?

HARRISON BADER: It doesn't surprise me at all. I've been around a lot of good base stealers, many of which have not been fast -- Paul Goldschmidt, Yadier Molina -- all guys who are very calculating an they pick their spots because they're prepared and do their homework.

And Judge is the same. You mention him being a complete player; well, he is for those reasons right there. You know, his athletic ability to go into second base hard and recover and ultimately get to third, it just puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the defense and the pitching staff to control runs with runners on third and less that two outs. Then the momentum shift and they had to come in the zone because it was top of the order, and Rizzo did a good job of putting a good, solid swing on the baseball.

Again, these games, these scenarios come down to taking care of the baseball. Not giving away outs, not giving away extra bases, because everything has an effect, and it's not to say you have to be perfect. It's just, you know, when things happen, a new situation is presented, you have to adjust accordingly.

Q. For that to have been your first homer as a Yankee and to come at a moment like this, what does it mean to you?

HARRISON BADER: I mean, it means a lot. You know, to me, truthfully, really it was just another at-bat. Just another game. I truly do like to play the game emotionless, as I was taught at the University of Florida from my coach, Brad Weitzel, who 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.

However, 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. I think all of those things are very nice, but there's such a long road ahead in October, ultimately in November, 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.

Q. You mentioned how important it is not to give up extra bases. The ball you cut off in the top of the third before you hit the home run that keeps Rosario from scoring, on a play like that are you thinking that this ball can't even get to the warning track? Can you go through your mindset of that play?

HARRISON BADER: Sure. I knew the speed of the runners on the bases. Rosario has really good speed as does Jose out of the box. I knew once it was hit that he was going first to third, and I knew once it was hit, he was going from first to second. That wasn't really my concern. My concern was like you mentioned 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. Everything is preparation. So as I'm running, you know, my only focus was just getting the ball in as quickly as possible and IK did a really good job of transitioning and coming up ready to make a throw. Listen, all of these little things -- 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.

Q. Whether it was when you were a kid or during your visualization stuff you talked about, how many times have you pictured yourself hitting a home run at Yankee Stadium?

HARRISON BADER: It's not so much the result I focused on. It's more the feeling of the swing as I step in the box. You know, the timing of getting ready to hit. You know, those are the things that really help in visualization to produce good results.

So like I said, it's very easy to be distracted on wanting to be a hero, wanting to hit a big home run, wanting to go out and do something. And, quite frankly, in my experience -- although it's not as long as some of the guys in there, in my experience, not letting the game come to you will get you into trouble.

So you know, the visualization, I guess, comes from you know, just the constant repetition and just thinking in the dugout or thinking before the game of just all these things to just to be ready when you see that ball in that certain spot to just allow it to take over.

Again, I'm just happy that that came up for us, and I'm looking forward to doing it as often as I can moving forward.

Q. As you're rounding the bases, do you allow yourself to hear the stadium, or did everything go numb for you in that moment?

HARRISON BADER: 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. And they are 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.

Q. I know it's your fourth straight playoffs, but first as Yankee, and four of your teammates tonight were making their postseason career debuts, IK and Trevy, Oswaldo, Wandy. How would you describe the atmosphere established by the veterans in that clubhouse that allowed you guys to go out and have a good game tonight and contribute to the victory?

HARRISON BADER: Yeah, that's the spine of everything we've got going on here. That's the foundation. You know, experience is tremendously important, there's no doubt about it. Having been there at some point, having felt it, having messed up, having succeeded, having this roller coaster of emotions through experience that you gain in this game, regular season, postseason, World Series, whatever it might be, it allows guys who have not been there before to kind of lean on you. That's what I experienced in St. Louis with Yadi, with Bueno. Those guys carried us because of the experience and you can say the same thing about the veterans in this clubhouse.

And this wasn't just tonight. This has been in the making all the regular season as there have been ups and downs. And again it's just really important to focus. It is the same exact game. There might be a little bit of noise but it's the same exact game. We have the same exact ability and we take the same exact preparation in going out there and winning a baseball game.

There's nothing on that field that anybody in that clubhouse has not seen or felt before. So when you have that, especially when things go and get tough, which they will, no doubt, it's nice to have veterans to lean on for sure.

Q. Did you have any flashbacks to your time as a little kid, either in the stands here or perhaps across the street leading into the game tonight or perhaps before the game?

HARRISON BADER: You know, I really just tried to separate the two. Again, a lot of that stuff will just kind of -- it's very easy to get emotional. It pulls you out of what you're trying to do. I definitely remember the level of excitement I felt. Fans standing up when the other team had two strikes on them. It was just a constant energy factor, I guess, if you will.

And you know, since I was a young kid, I'd say maybe 20 years ago, I started coming to Yankee Stadium. Nothing's changed. So it's definitely nice to see that.

Q. Just what kind of family and friend presence did you have here tonight?

HARRISON BADER: I mean, I feel badly. My parents and my sister are here, all my friends are here, but I didn't respond to any of their text messages because we had stuff to do today. (Laughter).

They definitely showed up, there's no doubt, and they are going to continue to show up as my teammates, friends and families will, and that's what this is about. This isn't just about the person that gets to put the uniform on. There's a massive team behind us that support us every single day. Yeah, when you have that behind you, it makes it a lot easier to go out there and play some ball.

Q. Any idea what the head count was?

HARRISON BADER: Triple digits for sure.

Q. So just piggybacking, did you attend playoff and World Series games at the old stadium?

HARRISON BADER: I was a part of some playoff games, yeah.

Q. Do you remember in the 90s? Anything in particular?

HARRISON BADER: When the Yankees went on a run in 2009. I went to those games.

Q. You're that young.

HARRISON BADER: I don't know about baseball years; I'm getting there.

That's a suit.

Q. Appreciate you. Playing behind Gerrit tonight what did you see from him after he was able to strand the bases loaded in the third?

HARRISON BADER: Yeah, it was huge. Obviously have a really good view of the strike zone. Have a really good view of what they are trying to do and understanding of what they are trying to do. He did a really good job of controlling the zone. Obviously gave up the home run, but after that he was nails with multiple pitches, made big pitches, kept the ball down.

And that's the type of stuff that fuels the offense. And you hate to put more pressure on the starting pitching, but that is the reality of it and that is why those guys get paid the way they do because of that energy and ability to lock in and make big pitches in big situations, which is exactly what he did.

It's awesome playing behind him. Obviously this is my first experience in doing it. But from afar, I've seen him work and I'm just happy to be a part of his success tonight.

Q. Just because you didn't play for the first seven weeks you were with the Yankees and at the same time Jordan Montgomery was playing well. Did you feel internally there would be a need to validate and show everyone, this is why they got me, and does that make today feel any better along the way?

HARRISON BADER: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, the human element involved in that question, yeah, sure, there's no doubt. Any time there's a Major League Baseball game going on, I want to validate myself. I want to play hard and I want to show my teammates and I want to show -- my parents are in the stands. I want to show them all why I earned that uniform, there's no doubt.

However the flipside, the more professional side, the reality of the situation is that I wasn't ready to play; and if I was going to force playing, if I was chasing that exact emotion, you know, it would have been -- it wouldn't have been a version of myself that would have been effective for myself and for my teammates. Coping with that reality allowed me to just continue to work. There was a tremendous staff in there who was helping me every day get back to the field.

And the biggest thing is I'll be ready to play when I'm ready to play, and you know, when I'm healthy. That takes time. But I can assure you it was absolutely worth it. They did a really good job -- the Yankees medical staff did a really good job of just matching out the timeline and the communication was excellent. You know, now we are in a position where I feel great and we're in the postseason, and I've got everything to look forward to, so yeah.

Q. As you break out of the batter's box after hitting it, you're focused on getting to first or did you see the ball go over the fence?

HARRISON BADER: Yeah, Judgey told me I ran a little too fast. Again, 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.

You know, talking about Judgey, he's hit so many towering home runs, as soon as he clips it, he knows he's got it. Sometimes -- 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.

Q. And you said you felt the energy going through your head. What are the thoughts going through your head as you're circling the base there is?

HARRISON BADER: 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. Nice little handshake with Judgey. Give your teammates some love. One at a time.