In fedora and cigar-chomping days of old, sportswriters would hang catchy nicknames on ballplayers.
Doesn’t happen much anymore and rarely with any punch. But Addison Barger has got one of late and it’s zesty: Bam-Bam. Neither of us knows where the sobriquet originated. Barger loves it, though: “That’s pretty cool. I actually had a dog growing up named Bam-Bam, so that’s the first thing I think of when I hear it.’’
Barger has certainly brought the bam since he was recalled to the Blue Jays in mid-April, after three stints in The Show last season when he hit a mere .197, overwhelmed. Not what the muscularly sculpted, weightlifting-cut fledgling had expected of himself off a career minor-league batting average of .260 with power to boot.
This time ‘round: hitting .272 going into Friday night’s start of a weekend series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels, having racked up 11 home runs — most recently a jack that left the park in Thursday’s stomping sayonara to the New York Yankees. A brace of dingers in the three games he started in the four-game sweep that hurtled ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ over the Pinstripes atop the American League East. And his team-high-tying 20th double.
A gobsmacking June for Barger began with the final two of a four-game homer streak, which earned him a spot in franchise history. No one had pulled that feat off since the greatly missed Teoscar Hernández in 2021.
Not half bad for someone who had been knocked down to utility man status by the time spring training opened this year. Although he impressed there, too, crushed when he didn’t break north with the club.
Much has shifted in the Barger universe over the past six weeks, in lockstep with a suddenly dynamic team. In the dugout Friday afternoon, he tried to put this new and improved Addison into perspective: “The power, that’s just been the result of the work I do in the off-season, in the weight room. Working on my quickness, my speed, my strength. My off-season work isn’t nice and easy — I’m getting after it, trying to gain bat speed. A lot of fast swings.’’
To wit: His barrelled balls have leapt from 8.7 per cent to 14.7. The exit velocity off the bat puts him in the 96th percentile.
It hasn’t all been the result of blood and sweat. Some of it has emerged from repressed tears, yesteryear’s disappointment.
“I’m getting back to being myself, like I’ve hit in the minor leagues for years. And it’s just worked out so well coming up here, getting my confidence back, getting comfortable and back to my normal swing. Not trying to do something different every day.’’
Addison Barger (11)
— TOR ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Runs (@TOR__HR)
Opponent: New York Yankees
Pitcher: Clayton Beeter
Date: 7/3/25
Not trying endlessly to fix himself.
“From the get-go last year, it just felt like an uphill battle. I was putting so much pressure on myself, changing something every day. Just grinding, trying to figure it out, instead of trusting myself and just being me. That’s the big thing for me now, trying to be myself and not screw with everything every single day.’’
Incoming hitting coach David Popkins deserves some of the credit, even if he won’t take it: “I told him I believed in him, reminding him what he’s done well throughout his career, what his superpowers are and sticking to that.’’
There were a few technical adjustments, however, directed by Popkins. “We narrowed him up (at the plate), opened up his stance a little bit, got the barrel more upright. Really increased the forward movement and his attacking move. We took clues from what he’d done in the past to make variations here.’’
Crucially, he learned to hit the breaking ball, as he did going yard on Thursday. (On three extra-base hits, Barger did his business with a cutter, a changeup and a slider.) “The homer wasn’t a great pitch and I put the barrel on it.’’
Blue Jay Addison Barger takes batting practice.
Steve Russell/ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ StarA quicker bat has given him an extra eyeblink to assess the pitch coming at him. “It’s a micro-fraction of a second, but it definitely helps when you’re battling with two strikes and the guy’s throwing 100.†And those 20 doubles? “When you put the barrel on the ball, good things happen, it turns out.’’
Aged 25, Barger has a unique origin story. His parents were missionaries working in Central and South America, four sons travelling with them. Barger, home-schooled by his mom, lived in Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil and El Salvador before the family settled near Tampa. The missionary vocation came after Barger’s father had started a successful software business that made the family suddenly wealthy.
“We were poor and then rich and then missionaries,’’ Barger laughs.
He shares his parents’ values. But what has grounded him the most is being a husband and father, with a daughter born when he was just 20 and in rookie ball. A third child is on the way. Forced him to grow up fast, even playing a kid’s game for a living.
“That kind of pressure to provide is unmatched. Having to keep other human beings alive will light a fire under your butt.’’
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation