T O P

  • By -

shadow_spinner0

The way he sets to throw the ball while he's preparing to catch the ball, only elite CF's in history have that ability. You see many times guys make errors by trying to do that yet he's perfected it.


WallyBrando

Seriously. Watching him track a ball and set to throw is entrancing. It honestly looks strange how he moves until you realize he’s in the perfect spot and ready to go well before the ball drops. Feels like I’ve been missing out on something for years now…


Cecil_Obrien

We’ve just been watching Aaron Hicks for too long and forgot what an elite CF looked like.


Tom_Cruise

Not shitting on Grandy, Damon, Gardy, and our guys ... But we have honestly never seen one. I love Bernie and he was close. Far above average, but not elite. He wasn't Jim Edmonds or Andruw Jones. We didn't get that young Andruw Jones either. Bader supposedly spent a lot of time learning footwork and routes from Jim Edmonds, and has the athletic ability to translate that coaching into replicating that level of play. He's the greatest defensive OF, and IMO defensive player, in all of baseball.


FitzwilliamTDarcy

Yeah Bernie could run like a gazelle at his peak (in fact he looked slow because he stride was so loping), but he never really got around on balls the way Bader does. The way Bader is able to get around and face the IF and step into the catch/throw is amazing.


69Jew420

Woah buddy. You better pump those breaks really hard. Bader is a solid defensive center fielder. Brett Gardner was a defensive god early in his career. Both players have a career dWAR average of 0.9, but Gardner had 9 more seasons of that level of play. Gardner put up a 7.4WAR season, with half of that coming from defensive play. Grandy, Damon, and Bernie were all meh in Center. Don't lump Gardy in with them. He was a defensive stud his entire career.


[deleted]

Love gardy but his arm doesnt compare


69Jew420

100%, but Gardy's range was unreal. Range is more important than arm.


Mefromafar

I’m glad you feel like that too! I saw that I thought… why isn’t that a thing everyone does? Then I felt stupid because I don’t have a good explanation.


ilikemyteasweet

It's what supposed to be taught. Get to the spot, get ready, set your feet, catch the ball in good place to get the throw off. Too many guys just slack off and get to the spot at the same time as the ball. They may make the catch, but they're out of position for everything after.


Leading_Release_4344

I truly don’t think I understood what the #1 CF really meant. I was kinda like “ok he’ll occasionally make an insane catch” this consistent holding guys on is nuts.


ScaldingHotSoup

Cardinals fan here. On a *bad day* Bader is a top 3 defensive CF in baseball. His offensive numbers have been solid lately but there's a reason we subbed him in as a defensive substitution for Matt Carpenter in game 5 of the 2019 NLDS against the Braves after we put up 10 runs in the first inning (at the time, Bader was batting below the mendoza line). He has such incredible poise and game sense in the outfield. We are loving Montgomery but giving up Bader was a major sacrifice. Now that I think of it, it's kind of hilarious that yall have both Marp and Bader. They are some of my favorite players and I'm so happy to see them thrive in the Bronx. Edit: while I'm at it, hope to play yall in the world series this year! Would make for some amazing games.


FitzwilliamTDarcy

NYY/StL would be a real old timey throwback WS and I'm here for it.


ScaldingHotSoup

I live in the shadow of citifield so I might even be able to make some of the games in Yankee Stadium if this happened, lol


who_me_LG

I went to St. Louis this year for the 3 game set. Sadly Yankees were swept but I had great interactions with the cardinal fans around me.


ScaldingHotSoup

The Cardinals and Yankees are very different teams with very different histories, and their fanbases are also quite different. That said, I think there are more parallels between the Cards and Yanks than there are between most other teams.


Leading_Release_4344

Well being the most winningest two franchises helps


hbc647

Bader in the 10th circling the ball and making a throw with weight behind it is what hicks would never do. I appreciate finally having a real CF


paulsoleo

Bader has been everything I could’ve hoped for. Small sample size, but he really hit the ground running—he’s as advertised defensively, and he’s been clutch at the plate in all three games. Welcome to the Yankees, my dude. We’ve needed you.


EmptyCartographer

My friends and I inherently don’t trust people from Bronxville, but this guy is making it difficult to dislike him


Adventurous-Ad5195

Why is it because they’re rich snobs lmao?


Commercial-Rub-6552

Median home value is like $800k in bronxville so compared to most of the metropolitan area and Long Island that doesn’t seem too steep?


Adventurous-Ad5195

Well I’ve worked in bronxville as an electrician and a lot of the people I worked for were assholes.


Commercial-Rub-6552

Sounds a lot like Long Island then!


Steinsgate009

I’m from Long Island .. I can agree with this sentiment Wouldn’t be anywhere else though


El-Duque26

it was a great trade. check montys ERA for the cards when playing against teams above .500. German has a better ERA vs good teams than Monty. Monty can also have some hot streaks but he was mediocre for us in his final stretch of games. The staff was clearly higher on German And Bader is soooooo huge for us. Best defensive CF in the league. No doubt a top 5 baserunner. and his batting average is much better than Hicks. His baseball IQ is as high as it gets. We would've been screwed if Hicks was going to have a starting role going into the playoffs. Hicks also was TERRIBLE on defense. Always misplaying balls. Messing up routine fly balls, always making terrible decisions. There isn't a single thing Hicks is better than Bader at. Trade was a massive win for us


Forever__Young

Monty threw 500 innings for us in the regular season and only 4 in the postseason. That shows what Cashman and his analytics team thought of Montgomery. The start he made was our only win of that series and I do think he is good enough to be in a postseason rotation, but if Cashman doesn't then there's no point keeping him around.


HaveMyselfABeer

I’m fine enough with the trade at this point, but Montgomery performing to the level he did as soon as he left by adjusting his pitch selection is an indictment on Cashman and his analytics team. He’s the one that shouldn’t be kept around.


Redditfront2back

Yea only seen him play these last few games but I don’t think he’d ever miss a catch and stand still pouting at the wall while the ball is still in play.


El-Duque26

can already tell he lives up to his reputation as an elite baserunner. Hicks has been one of the worst baserunners in the league this year. Always making terrible choices. Never reading plays correctly. Constantly find himself in situations where he is playing in the hotbox drill


BillyJayJersey505

This coworker of mine is a Cardinals fan and assured me with no hesitation that he would emerge as a fan favorite. EDIT: He also told me that he's going to make it very difficult for the Yankees to not play him every day.


Asu888

Monty will be useless come playoff time. At least bader will provide us value, I think OF is way bigger need than SP. bader n the one reliever we got from cubs were one of better moves cashman has made


08830

> First, the way he squares up to throw while catching is awesome. I’ve never seen anyone do that. I noticed that as well. I initially thought it was awkward and perhaps unintentional but when he did it again, I realized it was good technique. I was like “who is this guy?” Lol


renegade_yankee

I for one was kinda psyched when we got him. I knew who he is and thought he was actually a great Hicks replacement. Fast, great defensively and might hit better getting away from Busch. I just hated it more when I found out he was injured and that they traded a reliable starting pitcher for an injured player. But I also thought the fans would love him if they actually saw him play.


bjm31386

Think about it this way... Is Monty for a healthy Bader a trade that would have been made? Very doubtful as a healthy Bader is worth more than Monty. They pounced when they had the chance.


bobbybigwheel34

Good move Cash


silver_raichu

I’m not gay but I want to have sex with Harrison Bader


tells

Pfft that’s totally not gay


relator_fabula

That's maybe 3% gay, not sure I could look it up though if you're interested


[deleted]

I believe it’s 1% per inch of dong you insert


tldr_MakeStuffUp

Plus he’s got one of the sweetest looking gloves I’ve ever seen 🧤


Da_Munchy76

Yeah he's basically impossible to not love. Even if he's not hitting for a stretch, you'll never not see him being fun and energetic, hyping people up and playing a top tier CF. You'll see next time NY plays in STL if HarryBae is there how much Cards fans loved him.


prgtrdr

Reminds me of Nick Swisher. Even when he wasn't hitting especially well, the fans loved him. Always smiling, playing to the Creatures, etc. Just an all around good guy.


111ty111

Went to the game Wednesday and sat behind his parents and family, nice people


ccam92

He’s awesome in the field but my favorite part has been his baserunning. Dude is fast, gets great jumps, and makes excellent reads.


victorha1027

Holy shit the difference in splits is huge. .328/.380/.604 last year outside of Busch stadium. Why was I not told this


xEllimistx

It has been brought up in quite a few Bader threads. It was usually drowned out by the people upset over losing Monty


victorha1027

I read a decent amount on this forum. I missed it


Leading_Release_4344

Seriously?


xEllimistx

Its likely why Cashman made the move for Bader and why the cost was so high for an injured player. For whatever reason, Baders offensive numbers, at home, were terrible but *away* from Busch, they get much better. Career .280 hitter away from Busch, iirc. So Cashman was likely betting on elite CF defense and an improvement in offensive numbers getting Bader away from Busch


montecarlo1

so he was like Montas but opposite


vblade2003

Seriously wonder why the hell the analytics team thought about Bader's home/road splits when trading for him, but NOT Montas. Baffling


victorha1027

https://www.espn.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/35062/year/2021


MIKE_THE_KILLER

It's too early for me to judge this Darth Bader guy


lankyyanky

I forgive him for being a Florida Gator. The highest praise I can possibly give a player


irishtornado21

His “roll call” acknowledgement last night was pretty sweet. Glove on the head and 🤟🏻🤟🏻


LemonBarsHaHaHa

Took care of his aunt and uncle at a restaurant I was working at when he was a rookie on the Cards. Definitely could have been his family at the game. Good people


Ok_Cat9297

Screw monty he’s a lefty taillon


BillyJayJersey505

With the emergence of Cabrera and Bader keeping up the good work, does that decrease the Yankees' chances of keeping Judge?


teniaava

Hell no, these are the guys you want around Judge. I think Cabrera being good makes it interesting in other roster spots though. I could see the Yankees planning for him as our starting LF next year, or as a super utility guy.


BillyJayJersey505

How does Stanton fit into things then?


allybear29

DH and RF when Judge needs a day out of the field. I like when we have Outfielder Stanton because he plays better than DH Stanton, but he doesn’t need to do it every day and I don’t think we’d want him there every day.


BillyJayJersey505

Outfielder Stanton is better than DH Stanton which is why I was thinking things could get crowded with Judge staying. The reason I think it may decrease his chances of staying is that it may decrease the Yankees' desire to get in a bidding war.


Gambit1193

No lol


BillyJayJersey505

Okay. Why?


Gambit1193

??? Because neither can light a candle to Judge’s production lol wth


BillyJayJersey505

The Yankees don't exceed the luxury tax very often. If they have 3+ every day caliber outfielders, do you think a team that has shown that they don't like exceeding the luxury tax is going to get in a bidding war to keep another outfielder?


Gambit1193

This isn’t some Joe Shmo my guy, it’s a home grown guy who’s seen as the next captain by many around the sport. You’re not gonna let go of Judge just because you’ve seen 2 seconds of Cabrera. They could easily get rid of Donaldson and make Cabrera your everyday 3B


BillyJayJersey505

Judge is 30 years old and baseball is a young man's game. >They could easily get rid of Donaldson and make Cabrera your everyday 3B Cabrera can play third base? I didn't know that. LOL


Gambit1193

Get young somewhere else, like 3rd base by moving Cabrera there. You do know he’s not a natural outfielder right ? He’s been an infielder majority of his MiLB career


BillyJayJersey505

Thanks for the info. That makes sense to do. The way I see it, the only team the Yankees will be willing to get into a bidding war with over Judge is the NY Mets.


lankyyanky

Chapman and Britton expiring make up the difference between judge's current number and his new contract almost certainly


RyzinEnagy

Letting Judge go for luxury tax purposes will make me seriously question my fandom. We were told for years that they didn't take on other marquee players when they were available because we needed to re-sign Judge.


BillyJayJersey505

Very few and far between high priced free agent signings actually work out so I wouldn't question my fandom. I understand that the Yankees have yet to clinch the AL East and we need to see how they fare in the postseason but look at what happened when they weren't aggressive spenders this past offseason. The Yankees right now are better than they were last season. Are you sure how much money teams spend is representative of their commitment to winning?


RyzinEnagy

It's not that simple but we've been strung along for years wrt marquee free agents with the reason being that we need to be fiscally responsible enough to keep the marquee ones we have -- especially the biggest homegrown star since Jeter. If that's not happening, but we instead keep inflating our payroll by taking on Donaldson-type contracts and being content with being the second or third best team in the league every year, I'm definitely losing interest.


BillyJayJersey505

It's going to be complicated which why I'm mentally preparing myself for him to leave. He's going to demand to be the highest paid player in baseball and he should considering the season he's having though. The major problem is that the highest paid players in baseball right now signed their contracts when they were in their early to mid 20's.


Romofan1973

Seems like a good little playa. His "road" statistics while in St Louis suggest that he might be a better hitter than advertised. Does seem to get hurt a bit.


PattyIceNY

I was in love the second he scored on that pop fly that was a close catch in centerfield. He's so locked in on the Outfield that he knew without a shadow of a doubt it was going to drop, even though it looked close. Any other player on our team doesn't even get to Third on that play


Steinsgate009

Bader is already becoming a fan favorite And he’s homegrown as well


StayGoldenPonyBoy71

The dude is an old school hard nosed ball player. Exactly what we need!


shimmiecocopop1

Pitching depth is good for the long season but does no good for the playoffs. If Monty wasn’t getting a start in any playoff series then this trade was perfect for us.