Harrison Bader gives honest comparison between playing for Mets, Yankees

Former Mets outfielder Harrison Bader has an awesome perspective about his time playing for New York's two teams.

Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets outfielder Harrison Bader (44) warms up before game two of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Since getting traded to the New York Yankees from the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022, 30-year-old outfielder Harrison Bader has played with the Yankees, the Cincinnati Reds, and the New York Mets, and then signed a one-year, $6.25 million contract with the Minnesota Twins earlier this offseason.

During Bader's lone 2024 season in Queens, he hit .236 with a .657 OPS and 12 home runs while being one of the best defensive outfielders in all of baseball.

HARRISON BADER AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM!

It's 3-0 Mets! pic.twitter.com/MLwsMFOkaW

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 25, 2024

Bader (who was born and raised in Bronxville, New York) made a March 17 appearance on Foul Territory TV. At one point, he spoke about his time playing for New York's two teams.

"The biggest difference is obviously New York is divided when it comes to their baseball teams, there's no doubt about it," Bader said, per an X post from Foul Territory TV. "There's no gray area. If you play for the Yankees, you know exactly who's rooting for you. If you're playing for the Mets, you know exactly who's rooting for you. Even down to like, you want into a restaurant, the first thing they tell you is whether they're a Yankees or a Mets fan.

Read more: Will this Cy Young winner be the Mets' top trade deadline target?

"And I think that was just really cool to kind of feel. The stark difference, and everyone's living so close to each other," Bader continued. "You kind of never know what to expect, but every day in New York... it is always going to present just high energy at all times.

"And in regards to the organizations, they're both incredible organizations. Getting the opportunity as a New York kid to play for both was just an absolute gift," he added. "I really don't know how else to say it, there's no other words for it. I just tried to make the absolute most out of it at every time, and I think when I look back on it, I'm just really proud of being able to put those uniforms on in front of a lot of my friends and family who ever since day one... I told them I'm going to play for the Yankees, I'm going to play for the Mets and play professionally in this city."

"There's no gray area. If you play for the Yankees, you know exactly who's rooting for you. If you play for the Mets, you know exactly who's rooting for you."

Harrison Bader breaks down the difference between playing for the Yankees and Mets. 👇 pic.twitter.com/dGGRKpbPmB

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 18, 2025

It's awesome to hear the genuine love and respect Bader has for these two New York teams.