This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Harrison Bader’s considerable impact since re-joining the Yankees’ active roster can be measured in hits, runs scored, RBIs … and milliliters.

When Willie Calhoun reported to Yankee Stadium earlier this month, still in the afterglow of his first homer in pinstripes, the 28-year-old was surprised to find a bottle of Silver Oak 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon waiting at his locker in the home clubhouse.

In silver Sharpie marker, Bader had scribbled: “5/2/23: 1st Bomb As A Yankee.”

“It means a lot,” Calhoun said. “Whenever you have a first in the big leagues, especially a home run with a new team, it’s pretty special. I haven’t had a first since my debut in 2017 [with the Rangers], so it comes full circle and reminds you that it’s the little things that matter. Maybe it’s the start of a new tradition here.”

Jake Bauers experienced a similar moment late last week as the 27-year-old prepared for the series opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Clutching a gift bag, Bader made the hard right turn into the visiting clubhouse, then darted toward Bauers’ locker to produce another bottle of Silver Oak -- a gift celebrating Bauers’ first Yankees homer on May 3 vs. Cleveland.

“I think it just shows the kind of teammate he is and how much he cares about everybody in this clubhouse,” Bauers said. “I’ve never had anything like that before.”

Calhoun recalled once receiving a gift bag from Texas teammate Adrian Beltre, celebrating his first Major League hit. Bader said he got the idea from several veteran teammates with the Cardinals, having noticed that they would “take care of players, especially when they have a little personal milestone.”

Bader said he didn’t want to “toot my own horn,” but indicated that other bottles are circulating throughout the Yankees clubhouse.

“It just keeps really good energy going, pumps those guys up,” Bader said. “It’s hard to get the first ones out of the way, especially when you’re on a new team. So I’m just passing that along, and hopefully when they’re doing their thing, they’re in a position to do it for a younger guy, too.”

Neither Bauers nor Calhoun has yet popped the cork on their bottles, which retail at about $195; Silver Oak describes the product as “an opulent wine with notes of cassis, ripe raspberry, toasted coconut and shiitake mushroom.”

“When I decide to have wine, I kind of gift out what I’m drinking at the moment,” Bader said. “So it happened to be a bottle of Silver Oak. That’s what I’ve been on the past few weeks.” 

The winery said that both bottles should show beautifully through 2040, but neither will last that long. Bauers is planning to share a few sips soon with his mother, Misty, who is planning a trip to New York from her home in California.

“My mom wanted to have a glass with me, so I’m going to save it,” Bauers said.

Calhoun said he’d like to stash the bottle in his Texas game room for a special occasion; he and his fiancée, Kaitlin Faber, are expecting a baby boy later this season.

“I know after she gives birth, she’ll definitely want to drink some wine,” Calhoun said. “That’s something we can celebrate right there.”