Cardinals’ Harrison Bader substitute teaches during MLB lockout

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader, coming off a Gold Glove season, substitute teaches a gym class during MLB lockout.

With the lockout underway, and seemingly no end in sight, players are getting creative with their free time. Just ask St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader.

An elementary school in Missouri was dealing with staffing shortages, so Bader, a Gold Glove center fielder, filled in as a substitute gym teacher for the day. He joked that “being a substitute science or math teacher, even at that level, would be above my pay grade” so he settled on teaching gym for the day.

During the day, Bader played dodgeball and even learned a new game that the students had made up. He spent about an hour with the kids and before he left, made sure to take pictures and sign autographs for all the kids. Afterwards, he told KSDK News: “It was nice being in St. Louis and not have to worry about which righty throwing 100 mph was going to take my lunch that day.”

Amazing.

Bader seemed to enjoy the day, too, as he went to his Twitter account and asked which other St. Louis-based schools needed gym teachers. Of course, this will not be a long-term gig – the Cardinals need Bader as their center fielder in 2022 and beyond – but what a way to break up the sudden abundance of free time during a lockout that is six weeks deep and likely to continue to go into February or March, if not later.

Bader, 27, is coming off his best season in the majors, posting a .267/.324/.460 slashline with 16 home runs and 50 RBI in 103 games. He established himself as a strong candidate to be the Cardinals center fielder of the future and if he maintains that level of performance in 2022, while staying healthy for all 162 games, he stands a very good chance of earning that honor, as well as a contract extension.

But first, gym class awaits.