Harrison Bader’s injury spiral took another turn in Cow Hollow: a late-night scooter collision further damaged the left foot that had already kept the San Francisco Giants outfielder sidelined for most of the season. The 32-year-old was taken to a hospital after the crash near Balboa Cafe, and the Giants are now examining both his recovery timeline and their $20.5 million investment. Manager Tony Vitello said Bader could miss the rest of the season.
The collision happened just before 2 AM on Sunday near Balboa Cafe, according to The San Francisco Standard. Bader was taken to a nearby hospital from the 2200 block of Greenwich Street, and the San Francisco Fire Department is investigating. A law enforcement source told the paper that Bader’s scooter collided with an SFFD vehicle near Greenwich and Fillmore streets, close to Fire Station 16.
Bader had already been unavailable since late May with plantar fasciitis in that same foot. MLB.com reported that the Giants placed him on the injured list after he aggravated the condition, and the new crash has made an already uncertain return even less likely.
Why The Giants Are Looking Beyond The Injury
The Giants’ legal department is looking into the crash, a league source told The San Francisco Standard. Section 5(b) of the current MLB-MLBPA agreement bars players from certain high-risk activities without written team consent, including examples such as skydiving, skiing, auto racing and motorcycle racing. If the club determines that a contract provision was violated, it can try to void the deal or dock the player’s pay, though no such finding or discipline has been announced.
San Francisco signed Bader to a two-year, $20.5 million contract in January to be its everyday center fielder, according to MLB.com. Instead, he has appeared in just 30 games and was batting .170 with a .198 on-base percentage before the latest setback, turning a disappointing season into a much more complicated club problem.
Several key questions remain unanswered, including how severely Sunday’s collision worsened Bader’s foot injury, whether he had team permission to ride the scooter and whether the Giants will pursue any contract remedy. For now, a player who was supposed to be helping stabilize San Francisco’s outfield has given the club another problem to solve away from the ballpark.
