Harrison Bader’s social media activity shows Cleveland crowd story is true

New York Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader has been a revelation during his time repping his childhood team in the Bronx, socking three home runs in four games of the ALDS and helping bring the series back to New York with his Game 4 showing.

According to those on the scene, that “showing” involved a bizarre, repeated impulse to troll the Guardians crowd in center field during warmups before every half inning.

What motivated Bader to start tossing baseballs off the center field screen, as well as reportedly chucking one across the street into a parking lot? Playoff adrenaline? The center fielder’s baseline level of energy? Josh Naylor sprinting around the bases calling Gerrit Cole his “little f***ing son”? Who among us can say?

What we do know is that one fan accused Bader of antagonizing the center field crowd (and even drilling someone with an errant throw). Another fan quote-tweeted that message with a GIF of Bader drilling a blast into the Cleveland night.

And Bader retweeted that quote tweet. So … confirmed?

Bader leaving Cleveland living rent free-er than the midges? Who saw that coming?

Surely, Bader’s errant throws must’ve been the most offensive thing in the Cleveland crowd last night. Ignore all the Deshaun Watson jerseys you saw!

Bader might be a jerk, but he’s the jerk in the Yankees jersey, and he’s done an incredible job nabbing the mental (and physical) edge so far in his four postseason battles for his childhood team. Here’s hoping that the person reportedly struck by a ball (standing against the netting?) is doing fine, and that Bader doesn’t have anything to answer for other than being a Woody Woodpecker-type troll.

Now the series shifts back to New York where Bader, with his Statue of Liberty glove and surprising pop, is beloved rather than reviled. The Jordan Montgomery trade may not have made much sense at first, but the Yankees muddled through their awful August and proved Brian Cashman right.

The team probably would’ve rather gone with Jameson Taillon and the ‘pen in a hypothetical Game 5 anyway, right?