PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. _ Mic'd up Mets star first baseman Pete Alonso was entertaining an ESPN audience Wednesday when his former Florida Gators teammate approached the plate for a second-inning at-bat against All-Star starter Marcus Stroman.
"If he gets over here I'm going to give him hell," Alonso told the ESPN broadcast about Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader. "Oh boy, he knows he's getting that. He just (bleeping) smiled at me."
Bader did smile when he later found out about Alonso's jab, but said he wasn't aware of it in the moment.
"I was locked in," he said.
Then he was out.
"Stroman threw me a nasty curve/slider," Bader said after the Cardinals lost to the Mets 4-1 in Grapefruit League play. "He got me good."
Stroman got most of the Cardinals good. He struck out four, walked one and allowed only one hit in three innings. Bader's swing-and-miss was actually one of Stroman's more challenging outs, and it became Bader's least encouraging trip to the plate in a day that looked better in real life than it will in the box score.
Bader worked Stroman to a full count before the strikeout, which came on a pitch that was in the zone. Later, against lefty Daniel Zamora, Bader checked himself after one wild swing, worked deep into the count and barely mishit a fly ball to left field that left two teammates stranded. Bader steamed. Hear how manager Mike Shildt saw it.
"Complete battle mode," Shildt said. "If you keep doing that, you're going to do a lot of damage, or you are going to get your walks, or you are going to get some combination. That's the kind of hitter Harrison has demonstrated he can be."
Bader did walk his third time up, but arrived too late to catch Alonso, who had been subbed out. Their mic'd up Gator reunion will have to wait. Meanwhile, Bader will keep trying to turn the volume down.
Pretty much everything about Bader _ clothes, hair, car _ is loud. His elite defense in center field screams at eyeballs to watch. His rare speed blares in the brains of pitchers and catchers every time he reaches first. The 25-year-old would not be here, getting another chance from the Cardinals to bar the door on center field, without his unique mix of talent and towering confidence, the latter of which can be traced to Bader's New York City roots.
Alonso has become a star in Bader's hometown. Bader's shot at St. Louis stardom encountered enough turbulence last season that the Cardinals were linked to trade discussions that could have sent Bader to the Mets. Bader is glad to be in red. Still, he's pulling for Alonso.
"I'm a huge fan of people who have success in New York sports towns," Bader said. "They (New Yorkers) are ruthless. They really are. What he has done in baseball is tremendous. But to do it in that city? Under that pressure? It's something I can respect even more."
Bader was reminded that he's under plenty of pressure. If Mets and Yankees live in the spotlight, Cardinals live beneath a microscope. Both can burn.
Posting a battling line of .205/.314/.366 on a 2019 team that often had a hard time scoring introduced Bader to the harsher side of Cardinal Nation.
"St. Louis is great, because there is so much love in that city," Bader said. "But at the same time, that is a double-edged sword. There's a lot of hate, for sure. It's something I definitely experienced, not having a good offensive year last year. I see both sides."
"I choose to only focus on and embrace the love. But I'm not an idiot. There's an expectation. Fans have a right to be frustrated with my offensive performance, and that's fine. I'll just use that, and have used that, as a driving force not only in my offseason but in everything else."
"I can tell everybody that doesn't have hopes for me and the same level of confidence in myself that I do that I will prove all of them wrong. I will continue to be an amazing teammate. I will continue to go out there and play my best version of baseball. And I will bring a World Series along with these guys to this city. That's the only thing I care about. I want everybody to hear me say that and know that's exactly what's on my radar, day in and day out."
Bader is no stranger to bold words. What's new this spring is a willingness to turn his hitting dial to the left, just a little.
"Definitely quieter," Bader said about his toned-down swing.
Most of this is mental. Bader's biggest trouble is no secret. He spent last season making life easy for pitchers. He too often flailed at low-and-away junk.
"The biggest thing is just pitch selection," Bader said. "I'm going to get a lot of crap this year. A lot of guys are not going to come into the zone. They think I'm just going to chase. I'm just going to sit there until I get something I can handle, and I'm going to do damage with it. A-swing, every swing. Battle my ass off. I'm not giving anything away. I've got nowhere to be. If guys just want to walk me all day, and just throw me stuff out of the zone because they are too scared to go in the zone, so be it."
Asked about Bader on Wednesday, Shildt pointed back to Monday. In the second inning of that day's win, Bader stepped in to face Minnesota starter Devin Smeltzer with teammates on first and third. The Cardinals just needed to find a way to get a guy home. Bader struck out trying to smash a low changeup. It was 2019 all over again.
"I talked to him about it," Shildt said. "Just trying to do a little too much."
Here's what happened next. Bader worked a five-pitch walk. Then he turned a first-pitch fastball into a single.
Shildt brought this up because he saw the changes Bader made between at-bats Monday happening during at-bats on Wednesday.
Quiet signs.
Good signs.
