MLB
Published
Jan. 4, 2024, 1:33 p.m. ET
Greg Bird was as soon as regarded as the following stalwart first baseman for the Yankees, somebody who might be a part of a brand new championship core.
Injuries derailed that dream, and he bounced round with the Phillies, Rockies and Blue Jays organizations, even becoming a member of the Yankees for a second stint in 2022, a short tenure in Triple-A.
Being unable to search out his sport once more ruined his relationship with the game he loves.
“I think for a while I was mad at baseball,” Bird, who hasn’t performed within the majors since 2019, recently told The Athletic. “I talked to a lot of guys, and a lot of guys go through it. You get mad at certain things and you get mad at people. But everyone is just trying to do their job — just like I am. I think it’s a lesson in just growing up in the world, sort of. When you play baseball your whole life, what do you know? Once you stop and get out there and see the world, it’s a big old place and there’s a lot going on.”
Now, Bird is having fun with baseball once more in an sudden place.
The 31-year-old is taking part in for the Melbourne Aces in Australia, the place he’s hitting .273 with seven home runs, 29 RBIs and an .867 OPS in 29 video games.
This comes after a short stint with the Quebec Capitales of the impartial Frontier League over the summer season, which adopted a stretch of time Bird spent again home in Colorado with household whereas teaching baseball at his old highschool.
“A lot of people all said the same thing: ‘If there’s any part of you that wants to play, you need to play again,’” Bird informed The Athletic. “There’s a part of me that still wants to play. And overall, I needed some time off, to be honest. I would say now I just have a little bit of a different perspective, but when you’re on a track to the big leagues, too, and you get drafted and that’s what you’re doing — granted that’s a great opportunity and a great gift — you know there’s an outside world of baseball but you don’t ever see it. Now, seeing it makes me have a different respect for the game, plus you learn different things because you see different things, different cultures.”
Bird confirmed off his tantalizing potential in 2015, when he hit 11 home runs and drove in 31 runs with an .871 OPS in 178 video games, however he missed all the 2016 season with a shoulder harm, which was only the start of a collection of harm setbacks.
Bird needed to be every little thing the Yankees hoped he can be, and he bottled up his feelings as his profession went sideways.
“The biggest thing is not letting it eat you up. That’s what happened for a while,” he informed The Athletic. “I know outwardly I’m not usually a very emotional and hyped-up person, but inwardly it bothers me. I want to be a guy that people can rely on. Year in and year out, getting hurt and dealing with everything that came with that, it definitely took a toll on me, and I know it does other guys, too. I definitely wore it inwardly probably more than people knew outwardly.”
Bird needs to get again to the majors, nevertheless it’s extra vital for him now to get pleasure from himself.
“Why worry about stuff you can’t control? You can’t,” Bird stated. “It’s just a wasted space of your time and effort. That was a valuable lesson, and I wouldn’t have learned it without baseball.”
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