James Douglas Bird (born March 5, 1950) is a retired

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

from to . Bird was drafted by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

in the third round of the 1969 amateur draft's secondary phase. During his career, Bird was used in a variety of pitching roles, frequently shifting from the bullpen to the starting rotation and back. Bird appeared in six postseason games from 1976 through 1978, all with the Royals, and each time against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

, posting a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched. After good work in the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

and 1977 playoffs, Bird is most known for surrendering a two-run homer to

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

in the eighth inning of Game Three during the 1978 American League Championship Series.

External links

Doug Bird
at Baseball Almanac
The 100 Greatest Royals of All-Time: #43 Doug Bird
Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from California Fort Myers Sun Sox players Kansas City Royals players Philadelphia Phillies players New York Yankees players Chicago Cubs players Boston Red Sox players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Winnipeg Goldeyes players Waterloo Royals players San Jose Bees players Jacksonville Suns players Omaha Royals players Columbus Clippers players People from Corona, California Mt. SAC Mounties baseball players Sportspeople from Riverside County, California 1950 births Living people Arizona Instructional League Royals players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub