Polar Bear’s Lumber Behind New York Yankee’s Playoff Power

Should the New York Yankees actually thank one of their cross-town rivals for the power surge displayed by one of the Pinstripes' stars during the 2022 playoffs? It seems like they should.

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In a great story by Dave Lennon of newsday.com, after being traded to the Yankees, while on the Injured List, outfielder Harrison Bader was looking for a spark to jumpstart his season. After coming across a bat in his house, autographed by a teammate from Bader's University of Florida baseball team, the Yankees centerfielder liked how the lumber felt in his hands, the weight, the handle, everything. So, he ordered a bunch.

The bat was a gift from New York Mets first baseman, Pete Alonso. He designed it himself. Alonso told Tim Healy of newsday.com, “It’s taken a lot of time to develop that model. There’s a lot that goes into it. I’m proud of it.” He should be. His fellow Gator had a big time playoff power display. Bader knocked five dingers in the 2022 playoffs, reminiscent of the power displays put on by Polar Bear from Queens.

Bader's shipment of Pete Alonso model bats showed up during the final week of the regular season. The Bronxville native took his first cuts with his new sticks durning batting practice, prior to Game 1 of the Division Series vs. the Cleveland Guardians. Later on that evening, during his first at-bat ever using the Pete Alonso model, Bader launched a 406-foot home run and the rest is now history. Does Harrison Bader feel that his buddy's bat design helped him with his power display?

Bader told Dave Lennon, “If you feel good in your equipment, if you feel good with your bat, your batting gloves, anything, it’s going to give you confidence. So yeah, I think it definitely helped, for sure.”