PHOENIX — As Harrison Bader made his way back to the majors a month ago like he makes diving catches in center field — glove first — he also added some adjustments at the plate so that he could make more contact more consistently and lessen the offensive troughs he fell into. He had a handful of coaches help him and one, unflinching critic of his learning curve.
“Narrowing the distance between those (slumps) — it is a learned thing,” Bader said Tuesday, hours before the Cardinals faced Arizona at Chase Field. “It is something you have to learn to feel and trust and know how it can happen, and at times that’s hard because you so badly want to put the ball in play.