Harrison Bader’s first season with the Giants has ended in the kind of off-field mess that makes everything else around it feel smaller.
The former Twin, who was already on the injured list with plantar fasciitis, suffered a scooter crash that further injured the same foot and shut him down for the year. The incident happened at 1:50 a.m. on Sunday near Balboa Cafe in Cow Hollow, close to the Marina, according to SFist.
A witness told the outlet that Bader ran into the back of a San Francisco Fire Department truck, and the truck’s wheel rolled over his foot afterward. Police responded to the scene, and Bader was taken to the hospital.
SFPD confirmed to the outlet that a scooter crash happened at 1:53 a.m., though it did not identify Bader by name. KPIX-TV sports reporter Matt Lively also spoke with eyewitnesses who said they saw Bader drinking at multiple bars Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday before the crash.
SFGATE sports editor Alex Simon reported those additional details, and they only made the story uglier. Witnesses reportedly saw Bader drinking at more than one bar before the accident, adding an uncomfortable layer to a night that already ended with him crashing into a fire truck and ending his season.
To be clear, neither police nor the Giants have said alcohol contributed to the crash, and no arrest or citation has been reported.
This isn’t even the first time Bader has had a scooter incident follow him. In 2014, as a sophomore at Florida, he was suspended for 19 games after another scooter crash led to a DUI investigation. Police reportedly found him unconscious after he hit a curb and a parked truck, and they noted a strong odor of alcohol.
The timing is brutal for Bader, who had signed a two-year deal with San Francisco after posting a career-best .796 OPS last season between Minnesota and Philadelphia. He was traded by the Twins at last year’s deadline as part of the franchise’s massive selloff, with Minnesota sending him out and receiving a package headlined by outfield prospect Hendry Mendez.
On the field, the Giants never got much out of him. Bader appeared in just 30 games, hitting .170/.198/.358 with 34 strikeouts and four walks. San Francisco sits at 47-62, and first-time MLB manager Tony Vitello has struggled after jumping directly from college.
Now 32, Bader is out for the season and still has another year left on his contract. After one of the best seasons of his career, he’s staring at an injury-riddled disaster and an uncertain 2027.
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