Bader was involved in a late-night scooter crash in San Francisco at around 2 a.m. Sunday, further injuring his left foot and complicating his recovery from the plantar fasciitis in that foot that he’s dealt with since late May.
The San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco Fire Department did not name Bader but provided information in response to a Chronicle inquiry about Bader’s incident.
The 32-year-old was involved in a vehicle collision riding his scooter in the Marina District and was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to statements from the SFPD and SFFD.
The Giants announced on Tuesday afternoon that Bader had been involved in a “scooter accident” and would have an MRI “to better understand the severity of the injuries sustained.”
The collision happened a day before Bader flew to Indianapolis to meet with a foot and ankle specialist to evaluate the severity of his plantar fasciitis, which has kept him from baseball activity for weeks. Bader ultimately did make it to Indianapolis on Monday, but further injury from the crash complicated the consultation, the Giants said.
“Reached out to him, asked him if he was OK. Obviously he’s not better than he was prior to that,” manager Tony Vitello said on Tuesday. “It’s going to delay the recovery process for him, but even prior to it, you’re looking at a pretty frustrating long runway.”
The outfielder signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract this offseason in hopes that the former Gold Glover would improve the Giants’ poor outfield defense. But he has hardly played in his first year in San Francisco, appearing in just 30 games this season.
He missed a month with a hamstring strain between April and May and has been sidelined for nearly two months since May 30, dealing with the pain in his left foot. In his time with the Giants, Bader is batting .170/.198/358 with five home runs in 111 plate appearances.
This isn’t Bader’s first late-night scooter collision on record. In 2014 at the University of Florida, Bader hit a curb and ran into a truck while driving a motorized scooter, according to a report from the Gainesville Sun. He was unresponsive on the ground and, according to the incident report cited, smelled of alcohol.
He served a 19-game suspension to start the Florida Gators baseball season that year.
Staff writer Aidin Vaziri contributed to this story.
