Bruce Bolt gave the Twins’ Harrison Bader color and flair. And he put the Texas sports startup on the map

Something about Harrison Bader the charismatic Twins outfielder makes him impossible to miss Whether it s his colorful batting gloves and pads his long dirty-blond hair or all-out play there s an aura around Bader that s unmistakable Even in batting practice your eyes drift to Bader who joined the Twins as a free agent just before spring training On a latest homestand Bader leaned on the batting cage waiting his turn decked out in distinctive color and style a red sleeveless hoodie bright gold and red batting gloves with a teal compression sleeve on his right arm On a steaming hot afternoon he pulled the bottom of his pants legs above his knees revealing black mid-calf socks No other Twin sported such an eye-catching collection of accessories And majority of of Bader s teammates think it s cool He s got his own little flair mentioned All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton who plays alongside Bader in the outfield He s one-of-a-kind when it comes to that type of stuff But that s what makes him him As manager Rocco Baldelli put it I ve never been around someone like Harrison Bader and I say that in all the right positive inspiring techniques He s one-of-a-kind When he s done playing I don t know what he s going to end up doing but it s going to be something and it s going to be big Bader and Bruce Bolt Here s something else different about Bader Loyalty and individuality Largest part players get their batting gloves pads and shoes by contract from one of the major sporting goods companies Nike Franklin Under Armour Mizuno etc Not Bader He goes with a small company out of Austin Texas Bruce Bolt distinguished by its lightning bolt logo Bader essentially put Bruce Bolt on the map signing up as its first pro client in At the time we were really nothing mentioned Bear Mayer who co-founded the company as a -year-old with his father Gard in It was really just a project to have something to bond over with my dad I m very thankful for Harrison taking a chance on us So how did Bader get hooked up with this little-known startup That s a story in itself A third-round pick by St Louis in out of the University of Florida by Bader was a fixture in center field for the Cardinals and a Gold Glove finalist But he didn t like his Nike batting gloves which tore easily They obviously make great products but specifically their batting gloves were giving me various trouble Bader reported Bader grew up in Bronxville N Y a village just north of New York City Before college Bader played excursion ball with the New York Grays a Bronx-based outfit of mostly Latino players founded by David Owens who also coached Bader at Horace Mann High School A Bruce Bolt rep knew Owens and gave him selected batting gloves for his Grays players to try in Owens knew Bader was looking for new gloves and passed along a pair of white Bruce Bolts made with soft durable Cabretta leather I put them on I loved them loved the feel Bader revealed Then I set up particular meetings to learn more about the company the history It was a dream deal for me I was very young just getting started They had a really big presence with younger baseball players high school going to college Just from the standpoint of trying to map up the next five years I was very excited for the possible the company had So Bader canceled his Nike deal which included shoes to go with Bruce Bolt Since Bruce Bolt doesn t make shoes Bader buys his own Scrapping the entire deal early was something that my agents pushed me against he commented It s significant to go for what you believe in and I ve maintained in the company from Day One Bruce Bolt gave me a lot of confidence which ultimately reaffirmed my decision every single day Struck by lightning The company name is a nod to Mayer s grandfather Bruce who according to family lore was hit by lightning twice and survived Now it suggests more than pro and amateur clients with Bader Fernando Tatis Jr of San Diego five other major leaguers and golfer Sergio Garcia leading its Signature Series line Bader rapidly learned what set Bruce Bolt apart from other equipment providers Clients collaborate with Mayer to design their gear For Bader that included batting gloves elbow guards shin guards elbow sleeves and a sliding mitt We ve got to compete with specific pretty big companies Mayer now reported in a telephone interview from Austin They re able to pay these guys specific pretty big bucks to wear their gloves Because we didn t have the same capabilities of these companies we had to work something that drew their attention away from what they were seeing over here to us Minnesota Twins Harrison Bader removes his colorful Bruce Bolt batting gear after a ground out with runners on base during the fourth inning of a baseball match against the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday July in Los Angeles Credit AP Photo Jayne Kamin-Oncea Bader and Mayer settled on baby blue and red mimicking the powder blue Cardinals uniforms from the s and s the club brought back in His hands definitively confident Bader had his best offensive season as a Cardinal in hitting homers with RBI despite missing games with injuries As Bader moved on from St Louis to the Yankees in the Reds in and the Mets last year he and Mayer experimented with different colors to match his new teams I try to put two colors together that look good on TV and look good in person Bader declared Beyond that I do try to highlight certain aspects of the uniform I just really love that color He couldn t be too outrageous with the traditional Yankees sticking with dark navy with a splash of teal in a Statue of Liberty theme Given more freedom with the Mets he chose a lavender inspired by the purple of the No Train the elevated subway line that runs past Citi Field That purple is kind of more of a plum which is a bit too oversaturated for me so I kind of yearned to do something that was a little softer a little more pastel-ly Bader noted In my own way I was highlighting the train with those lavender colors I m still using those this year because I just really love that color I think it s awesome with our uniforms You ll only see those a scant weeks longer Bader and Mayer say Twins-specific gear will drop next month Bader declared the design incorporates Twins red with the yellow of its City Connect uniforms Mayer added it s inspired by Greek mythology specifically the story of Prometheus defying Zeus and giving fire to the human race He did what Harrison usually does Mayer reported He goes with what s speaking to him in the moment That sets Bader apart as a participant too A Gold Glove winner in center field Bader shifted to left field with the Twins to accommodate the speedier Buxton though he s also filled in in center and right Bader has standout stats too In a season where virtually every Twin besides Buxton has struggled Bader has been steady at the plate and in the field He enters this weekend s home series with Washington tied for third on the club in homers and fourth in RBI Earlier this month he hit four homers in four games including a game-winner against Tampa Bay on July In Wednesday s - walk-off loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles Bader drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth with an infield single and just missed a diving catch in the ninth that would have ended the event Defensively he s th among all MLB players in runs saved with via range and positioning and one with his arm per Sports Info Solutions That s by far the best of any Twin regardless of position He s saved eight runs strictly as a left fielder third-best in the majors Per Statcast Bader ranks in the th percentile of all major leaguers in fielding range That means Buxton doesn t have to chase as multiple balls in the left-centerfield gap I like his event Buxton noted I like the way he goes after balls I like the way he plays the outfield And he s versatile Any position you put him out there he plays it at Gold Glove caliber That s something you don t really see too much of To be able to play with him is fun Bader chuckled when sought if he tried to recruit any current or former teammates to Bruce Bolt Most of he announced lack the nerve to get out of their equipment deals I spoke to a couple of players around the league countless times that this was going to be big and they d be great for the brand and this and that Bader explained They declined But they ve genuinely circled back I stated it s out of my hands The roster s filling up You should have listened to me earlier The post Bruce Bolt gave the Twins Harrison Bader color and flair And he put the Texas sports startup on the map appeared first on MinnPost