Giants gathering details about Harrison Bader’s late-night scooter crash

SAN DIEGO — More than four days after Harrison Bader sustained injuries in a scooter crash in the predawn hours Sunday, the San Francisco Giants have not provided additional details about the incident, nor has the team given any public update on the condition of the 32-year-old outfielder.

That’s because club officials are continuing to gather the facts. And indications are that Bader has been less than forthcoming with them.

More details about the crash emerged Thursday, when SFist reported that it occurred around 1:50 a.m. Sunday — as bars in the Cow Hollow area of San Francisco were closing — in the vicinity of Balboa Cafe at Greenwich and Fillmore streets. The online publication cited a witness, who saw Bader’s scooter collide with the back of a San Francisco Fire Department fire engine. The wheel of the truck “rolled over his foot, causing major injury,” the report stated.

SFist reported that the Citizen app, which tracks emergency alerts, confirmed responders were dispatched to the area of the incident at that time, following a report of a person “needing assistance.” The San Francisco Police Department confirmed to SFist that a scooter was involved in the collision. When officers arrived on the scene, they “observed the individual from the scooter receiving medical assistance.”

That person was taken to an area hospital with “non-life threatening injuries,” SFPD told SFist. There were no other reported injuries.

KPIX’s Matt Lively reported speaking with witnesses who described Bader as drinking in bars in multiple neighborhoods, and he was seen exiting Balboa Cafe prior to the accident.

The San Francisco Police Department did not provide information following multiple calls and a records request from The Athletic. Greg Genske, who heads the VaynerBaseball firm that represents Bader, also did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Bader, who signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract in January, has been a disappointment for the Giants. He dealt with injuries in spring training and batted .170 in 30 games before missing time with a strained oblique and a left foot ailment that the team described as plantar fasciitis. Bader hasn’t played since May 29 because of the foot injury, and prior to the accident, he had been scheduled to see a foot and ankle specialist in Indianapolis on Monday.

Despite incurring additional injury to his left foot in the collision, Bader traveled as planned to Indianapolis on Sunday and was examined on Monday. According to a team injury report that the Giants released on Tuesday, “the impact of that (collision-related) injury changed the nature of his evaluation.” The team’s news release also said that Bader would be examined by Giants orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki and undergo an MRI exam to “better understand the severity of the injuries sustained from the scooter accident.”

More than 48 hours later, the team hasn’t released any MRI results and Bader has declined to provide public comments, despite being encouraged by the club to talk to reporters or make a statement. According to a person briefed on the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to comment publicly, Bader has not fully cooperated with the team’s investigation into the incident, possibly out of concern that the Giants could seek to void the remainder of his contract for taking part in “high-risk activities” that the collective bargaining agreement disallows without the team’s written consent.

Bader also was involved in a scooter accident in 2014 when he was a sophomore at the University of Florida. He was suspended from the team and the Gainesville Police Department investigated the incident.

If the Giants want to preserve a path to void Bader’s contract, then manager Tony Vitello might have damaged their legal standing in his pregame session with reporters. In the absence of any information or availability from upper management, reporters had to rely on the Giants’ rookie manager, who has struggled to be a clear and reliable spokesperson on everything from injury updates to organizational matters.

“Nothing specific for me,” Vitello said in San Diego, ahead of San Francisco’s game against the Padres. “Again, I’m not sure who’s where, what day. Just circled up with him and just checking on his well-being, and then the rest is kind of up to medical staff, doctors he’s seen. Like, what does he have to do to heal himself entirely, and then move on to whatever he’s got going on with his foot, and then just getting back to play. Front office sorting through all that other stuff. So nothing new.”

But when asked a follow-up question about whether Bader would play again this season, Vitello referenced the original foot injury and said, “I think that would’ve been a long shot to begin with.”

Afterward, a Giants public relations official stressed to reporters that Vitello did not definitively say that Bader would miss the rest of the season.