{"id":420497,"date":"2026-08-01T05:09:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T05:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/420497\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T05:09:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T05:09:42","slug":"harrison-bader-suffers-major-injury-after-crashing-scooter-into-fire-truck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/420497\/","title":{"rendered":"Harrison Bader suffers ‘major injury’ after crashing scooter into fire truck"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO \u2014 A late-night scooter accident, the details of which remain hazy, will be the lasting memory of Harrison Bader<\/a>\u2019s otherwise forgettable first season in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Despite indicating otherwise just last week, Giants manager Tony Vitello confirmed Thursday afternoon that the offseason free-agent addition had played his final game this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that would have been a longshot to begin with,\u201d Vitello said of Bader\u2019s chances of returning this season after he crashed his scooter in the wee hours Sunday in one of San Francisco\u2019s premier nightlife districts.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old center fielder had been limited to only 30 games in his first season since signing a two-year, $20 million contract with the Giants this past offseason. He was first sidelined by a hamstring strain but more recently has been dealing with plantar fasciitis.<\/p>\n

A happy Harrison Bader heads to the dugout after belting a grand slam during the Giants\u2019 blowout win over the White Sox on May 23, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Bader, who hasn\u2019t appeared in a game since May 29, was scheduled to fly to Indianapolis to see a specialist for the persistent issue with his left foot. On Friday, Vitello said Bader was \u201cfrustrated\u201d by \u201csome setbacks\u201d that had stalled his rehab efforts.<\/p>\n

Before he could make it to the foot specialist, he suffered a different kind of setback. In an update Tuesday, the team said Bader had \u201cfurther injured his same foot\u201d in a \u201cscooter accident on Saturday night\/early Sunday morning.\u201d By Thursday, more details had begun to emerge.<\/p>\n

According to statements from the San Francisco Fire and Police departments, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, Bader was transported to a local hospital about 2 a.m. Sunday with non-life-threatening injuries. The incident occurred in the Marina district, authorities said.<\/p>\n

A witness who spoke to SFist<\/a> anonymously shed more light on the incident, telling the publication that it took place outside the famed Balboa Cafe, a popular drinking hole owned by Gov. Gavin Newsom, and involved a San Francisco Fire Department vehicle.<\/p>\n

Per SFist, Bader rode his scooter into the back of a firetruck, which then ran over the same foot that was already injured, \u201ccausing major injury.\u201d Additionally,\u00a0local TV affiliate KPIX<\/a>\u00a0cited multiple witnesses who said Bader was seen drinking at bars across the city before the incident.<\/p>\n

The Giants have not provided more details beyond their initial statement, which said that Bader\u2019s scheduled meeting about his plantar fasciitis was \u201ccomplicated\u201d by the crash and that the \u201cimpact of the injury changed the nature of his evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team said Bader was set to undergo an MRI on Tuesday to reveal the full extent of the damage caused by the crash, but Vitello said Thursday those results weren\u2019t available yet.<\/p>\n

Despite the persistent setbacks that caused Bader to seek outside medical help, Vitello had said as recently as last Friday that he expected the center fielder to return this season.<\/p>\n

Harrison Bader prepares for the game before the Giants\u2019 loss to the Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on May 25, 2026 in San Francisco. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The manager\u2019s tone had changed by the time a week had passed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said that? I did?\u201d Vitello said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Vitello said he first received word that something involving Bader happened on Sunday, a day before he was set to fly to Indianapolis, but \u201che didn\u2019t provide a lot of details to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vitello didn\u2019t get into specifics after the team released the news Tuesday, saying he was more concerned with Bader\u2019s well-being but seemed to have come to terms that his outlook had changed.<\/p>\n

Harrison Bader awaits on deck during the Giants\u2019 loss to the Diamondbacks on May 19, 2026 in Phoenix. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously he\u2019s not better than he was prior to that,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna delay \u2014 there\u2019s a chance it could delay whatever the recovery process is for him. But even prior to it, we\u2019re looking at a pretty frustrating and long runway before he could get on the field again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bader was signed to upgrade the Giants\u2019 outfield defense<\/a> and lengthen their lineup with an experienced right-handed bat expected to be in there regularly. That hasn\u2019t played out, as Bader posted career lows in batting average (.170) and OPS (.557) in 111 plate appearances, though five of his 18 hits went for home runs and two of those were grand slams.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s reason to believe the Giants are considering taking further disciplinary action. Some contracts include language prohibiting \u201chigh-risk activities,\u201d such as the use of motorized scooters, though they have become common modes of transportation in MLB clubhouses, including San Francisco\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Harrison Bader hits during the Giants\u2019 loss to the Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on May 26, 2026 in San Francisco. Getty Images<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not yet clear if alcohol was involved in this incident, Bader was allegedly inebriated when he crashed a scooter into a parked car while at the University of Florida, resulting in a 19-game suspension.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regarding any potential discipline, Vitello said \u201cit wouldn\u2019t be up to me.\u201d But, he added, \u201cI don\u2019t know the circumstances. Depending on what those are, I wouldn\u2019t rule any of that out. \u2026 The front office is sorting through all that other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The whole saga has done nothing to change Vitello\u2019s views on a method of transport utilized on occasion by his predecessor, Bob Melvin, and many others to pass through the Giants\u2019 clubhouse in recent years. He would warn his players at Tennessee of David Hamilton, the current Brewers outfielder who tore his Achilles when his scooter hit a pothole.<\/p>\n

Now, he\u2019s got another cautionary tale in Bader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just not a fan,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cI spend a lot of time in Nashville. Nashville\u2019s become a fun place for a lot of people. If you\u2019re on a scooter around those people, you are risking your life. So, not a fan.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO \u2014 A late-night scooter accident, the details of which remain hazy, will be the lasting memory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[74527,1334,101,4820,103,102,104,106,105,127],"class_list":["post-420497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-harrison-bader","tag-mlb","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}