The Colorado Rockies made a late roster change ahead of Opening Day, placing Daniel Bard closer to the injured list (IL) due to fear.
Bard didn’t want to keep it a secret either, telling The Gazette’s Danielle Allentuck that it’s something he’s dealt with before in his MLB career.
“It’s hard to admit,” Bard said. “But I’ve been through this before. I’ve got enough to do outside of the game to realize what’s important. … I am very grateful to be in an organization that understands and accepts these things.”
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Daniel Bard, #52 of the Colorado Rockies, throws a bullpen at Salt River Fields in the Talking Stick on February 17, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images)
What Bard has struggled with in the past has been control of his playing fields, or better known in the baseball world as the “Yips.”
Many believe Bard’s World Baseball Classic game made a comeback with Team USA, particularly with the faulty fastball that broke Houston Astros star Jose Altuve’s hand while playing for Venezuela.
Bard was one of the most trusted helpers in the game breaking into MLB with the Boston Red Sox in 2009. By 2012, however, his reliability skyrocketed and control over his belongings suffered from the game.
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After just two appearances with Boston in 2013, Bard didn’t see the majors again until 2020, seven years later. His rise was a miracle, and after averaging a 3.65 ERA in 23 games, he was named NL Comeback Player of the Year.
Bard struggled with a 5.21 ERA in 2021 but was one of baseball’s top assists last season with a 1.79 ERA in 57 games with the Rockies and amassed 34 saves.
Team USA’s No. 52 reserve pitcher Daniel Bard plays against Team Colombia during the World Baseball Classic Pool C game at Chase Field on March 15, 2023 in Phoenix. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
That landed him a two-year, $19 million deal to stay in Colorado this offseason, and the Rockies are hoping to protect their investment by putting him on the IL now and trying to get Bard right again.
Bard isn’t the only major league player to be open about the “Yips.” Former St. Louis Cardinal Rick Ankiel famously reinvented himself as a ballplayer to stay in the bigs after failing to find the hitting zone as a pitcher.
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Ankiel eventually returned to the minors after serving for the Cardinals from 1999-2004 to become an outfielder. He finally got a call back to the Bigs in 2007, where he hit a .285 in 47 games.
He would end up bouncing around in MLB, but ended with an 11-year career and a .240 batting average over 651 games.
Daniel Bard, No. 52 of Team USA, poses for a portrait prior to the 2023 World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game between Team USA and Team Venezuela on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at LoanDepot Park in Miami. (Sam Robles/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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At 37, going down Ankiel’s path doesn’t seem like an option for Bard, but the Rockies are willing to work with him to reconnect in the bullpen when he feels ready.
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