Since an 0-for-8 start to his career in Major League Baseball, Greg Bird has been simply raking for the suddenly hot New York Yankees.
Lauded by Yankees veterans including Alex Rodriguez and others for his patient approach to hitting, the sweet-swinging first baseman and former star at Aurora’s Grandview High School is beginning to find his groove since his call-up from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 13.
Just ask the Minnesota Twins, who saw Bird mash two two-run home runs against them on Wednesday that produced all four runs in the Yankees’ 4-3 win. In New York’s three-game sweep of the Twins, Bird finished 5-for-9 (.555) with two homers, a double and five RBI.
In the opener with Minnesota, Bird doubled as part of New York’s winning rally in the 10th inning and he singled twice and knocked in a run in an 8-4 win on Aug. 18.
Combined with his first two games — against Cleveland on Aug. 13 (0-for-5 with 2 strikeouts) and Toronto on Aug. 15 (1-for-4, strikeout) — Bird now carries a .333 batting average and an OPS of 1.091.
Bird’s hitting prowess comes as no surprise to those around Grandview, who saw him hit .660 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI as a junior and win Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011 after he hit .553 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI.
Up next for New York is a four-game set against the Indians.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes
