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Greg Bird (baseball)

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Greg Bird
Bird with the New York Yankees on August 22, 2015.
New York Yankees – No. 33
First baseman
Born: (1992-11-09) November 9, 1992 (age 31)
Aurora, Colorado
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 13, 2015, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average.261
Home runs11
Run batted in31
Hits41
On-base percentage.343
Slugging percentage.529
Teams

Gregory Paul Bird (born November 9, 1992) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on August 13, 2015.

Career

Bird attended Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado. Playing for the school's baseball team, Bird was named the Colorado Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year as a senior.[1][2][3] He committed to attend the University of Arkansas to play college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks.[4]

Bird was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft.[5] Bird signed with the Yankees, receiving a $1.1 million signing bonus and bypassing his commitment to Arkansas.[4] He was drafted as a catcher but was moved to first base.[6]

Bird made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2011. He finished the season playing in four games, going 1 for 12. In 2012, he played in only 28 games due to injuries. He finished the season hitting .337/.450/.494 with two home runs. Bird started the 2013 season with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League.[7] He finished the season, hitting .288/.428/.511 with 20 home runs and a minor league leading 107 walks. He won the Kevin Lawn Award as the Yankees Minor League Player of the Year.[8][9]

In 2014, Bird began the season with the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, where he batted .277 with seven home runs and 32 runs batted in before he was promoted tor the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League,[10] where he batted for a .253/.379/.558 triple slash to go along with 7 homers and 11 RBI to create a full season equaling .271/.376/.472 slash line, 14 homers, and 43 RBI in 102 games.[11] After the season, the Yankees assigned Bird to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). He hit a 450-foot (140 m) home run during the AFL Fall Stars Game. Bird led the AFL with six home runs was named the AFL Most Valuable Player.[12]

Bird started the 2015 season with Trenton and was promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League during the season.[13] In May, he experienced a shoulder injury.[14] On August 13, 2015, the Yankees announced they would promote Bird to the major leagues to backup Mark Teixeira at first base and Alex Rodriguez at designated hitter.[13] He made his major league debut that night, going 0-5.[15] He collected his first hit on August 15.[16] Teixeira injured his leg on August 17, which was later diagnosed as a fracture, ending his season, as Bird became the Yankees' starting first baseman.[17]

On August 19, Bird hit his first two MLB home runs.[18] On September 7, Bird hit a go-ahead 3-run home run in a game against the Baltimore Orioles.[19] Teixeira went down with a season ending leg injury, promoting Bird to the starting first base position.[20] On September 22, Bird hit a game winning three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the top of the tenth inning. He finished the season with a .261 batting average, with 11 home runs, 31 RBIs and a .343 on-base percentage.

Bird suffered a recurrence of his right shoulder injury during the 2015-16 offseason, which was diagnosed as a torn labrum. Bird underwent successful surgery and hopes to be back next season.

Personal life

Bird was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His family moved to Colorado when he was ten years old.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ "Grandview's Bird gets state's Gatorade baseball honor". Blogs.denverpost.com. June 1, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  2. ^ Frei, Terry. "Grandview's Greg Bird awaits MLB draft, braces for decision". Denverpost.com. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  3. ^ "Baseball: Gatorade tabs Grandview's Bird player of year". Aurora Sentinel. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Grandview's Greg Bird signs with Yankees for $1.1 million". Blogs.denverpost.com. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  5. ^ Ryan CaseyThe Denver Post. "Grandview's Greg Bird drafted by Yankees in fifth round". Denverpost.com. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  6. ^ "Charleston RiverDogs first baseman Greg Bird 'mature beyond his years'". Postandcourier.com. June 26, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  7. ^ "Yankees farmhand Greg Bird has command of the strike zone". Newsday.com. August 17, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  8. ^ "Yankees name INF Greg Bird and RHP Shane Greene winners of the 2013 Kevin Lawn "Player of the Year" and "Pitcher of the Year" Awards". New York Yankees. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  9. ^ "Yankees spring training: Greg Bird, Shane Greene 2013 minor league players of the year". NJ.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  10. ^ "Thunder hoping Bird can produce same spark as departed OBrien". The Trentonian. August 5, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  11. ^ "Gregory Bird Minor League Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  12. ^ "Yankees' Bird named Arizona Fall League MVP". New York Yankees. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Yankees to call up top prospect Greg Bird". New York Post. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  14. ^ http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14691950/new-york-yankees-1b-greg-bird-suffers-shoulder-injury-miss-season
  15. ^ "Yankees notes: Greg Bird makes big-league debut". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  16. ^ "WATCH: Greg Bird, former Grandview star, gets 1st MLB hit". On the Rox. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  17. ^ Martin, Daniel. "Mark Teixeira done for 2015 after MRI reveals leg fracture". http://nypost.com. New York Post. Retrieved September 11, 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  18. ^ Kernan, Kevin (August 20, 2015). "Homers not only reason Yankees drooling over Bird's potential". New York Post. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  19. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/sports/baseball/greg-birds-home-run-lifts-yankees-over-orioles.html?_r=0
  20. ^ Martin, Daniel. "Mark Teixeira done for 2015 after MRI reveals leg fracture". http://nypost.com. New York Post. Retrieved September 11, 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  21. ^ "BBDP Exclusive Interview with Greg Bird - Bronx Baseball Daily". bronxbaseballdaily.com. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  22. ^ "Yankees potential future 1B hitting moonshots in desert". New York Post. Retrieved August 14, 2015.

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