Gregory Paul Bird (born November 9, 1992) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Since Bird’s 2015 debut season, his career has been plagued by a variety of injuries. Bird missed the entire 2016 campaign and played a mere 173 games with the Yankees and their respective minor league affiliates, between 2017 and 2019.

Amateur career

Bird attended Grandview High School in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...

, where he played for the baseball team as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and formed a battery with

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

Kevin Gausman. Bird was named the Colorado Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year as a senior. He committed to attend the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

Professional career

New York Yankees

Bird was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the

2011 Major League Baseball Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

. Bird signed with the Yankees, receiving a $1.1 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

and bypassing his commitment to Arkansas. He was drafted as a

but was moved to first base. Bird made his professional debut for the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

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 run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. Bird started the 2013 season with the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. 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. In 2014, Bird began the season with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

of the High–A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, where he batted .277 with seven home runs and 32

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

before he was promoted tor the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

of the Double–A Eastern League, where he batted for a .253/.379/.558 triple slash to go along with seven homers and 11 RBI to create a full season equaling .271/.376/.472 slash line, 14 homers, and 43 RBI in 102 games. After the season, the Yankees assigned Bird to the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco G ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

(AFL). He hit a home run during the AFL Fall Stars Game. Bird led the AFL with six home runs was named the AFL

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. Bird started the 2015 season with Double-A Trenton and was promoted to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

of the Triple–A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

during the season. In May, he experienced a shoulder injury.

Major leagues

2015: Rookie season

On August 13, 2015, the Yankees announced that they would promote Bird to the major leagues, serving as a backup to

Mark Teixeira Mark Charles Teixeira ( ; born April 11, 1980), nicknamed "Tex", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anahe ...

at first base and

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

. He made his major league debut that night, going 0-for-5. He collected his first hit on August 15, a single off of

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Teixeira injured his leg during a hit-by-pitch on August 17, which was later diagnosed as a season-ending shin fracture. As a result, Bird became the Yankees' starting first baseman for the rest of 2015. On August 19, Bird hit his first two MLB home runs off of

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

pitcher

Ervin Santana Ervin Ramon Santana (born Johan Ramon Santana; December 12, 1982) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals (twice), Atlanta Braves, Minneso ...

. On September 7, Bird hit a go-ahead three-run home run in a game against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. 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 and a .343 on-base percentage. In 46 games and 157 at-bats, Bird hit 11 home runs with 31 RBIs.

2016

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 was ruled out for the entire 2016 MLB season. After not playing during the regular season, Bird recovered from his shoulder injury in time to be assigned to the

of the

in October 2016.

2017

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, Bird showed a full recovery from his season-ending shoulder surgery, hitting eight home runs, tied for the most with

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

outfielder

Bryce Harper Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball first baseman and right fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. One o ...

. He also led the league in extra-base hits (16), on-base percentage (.556), slugging percentage (1.098) and OPS (1.654). During an exhibition game against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, Bird hit the first-ever home run in

SunTrust Park Truist Park is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, in Cobb County, Georgia. Opened in 2017, it is the ballpark o ...

. On May 2, Bird was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a bruised right ankle. His performance was hampered due to an injury he sustained after fouling a ball of his foot at the end of Spring Training, batting .100 in 19 games. In July, Bird was diagnosed with an injury to the

os trigonum An accessory bone or supernumerary bone is a bone that is not normally present in the body, but can be found as a variant in a significant number of people. It poses a risk of being misdiagnosed as bone fractures on radiography. Wrist and hand ...

in his right foot; he would have surgery to remove the bone. On August 26, Bird was activated off the 60-day DL after missing 103 games and went 1-for-2 with two walks in a game that afternoon. Since his return from injury, Bird batted .253 and hit 8 home runs. In 48 games played in 2017, Bird batted .190 with 9 home runs and 28 RBI. In Game 3 of the ALDS, Bird hit a solo home run off of Cleveland Indians reliever and former Yankee Andrew Miller, only the second home run Miller had allowed on a fastball to a lefty in the last three seasons. It was the only run scored in the game as the Yankees won 1–0. Bird served as the final out in Game 7 of the ALCS against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, flying out to center fielder George Springer to eliminate the Yankees from World Series contention. In the postseason, Bird slashed .244/.426/.512 with three home runs and 6 RBIs; he was also thrown out at home plate twice.

2018

On March 26, 2018, it was revealed that Bird would undergo ankle surgery, ruling him out for six to eight weeks. He underwent successful surgery the next day, and it was revealed to be a small bone spur. A coin-sized calcium deposit was also removed from the ankle. This was the second time Bird had ankle surgery; a different problematic bone was removed from the ankle the previous summer. Bird returned from his ankle surgery on May 26, 2018. Bird struggled in 2018 batting .199/.286/.386 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs and lost his starting job to

Luke Voit Louis Linwood Voit III (born February 13, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New Yor ...

late in the season.

2019

On April 16, Bird was placed on the 10-day IL with a left plantar fascia tear, prompting the Yankees to call up first baseman Mike Ford. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on May 12. Bird would go on to miss the rest of the 2019 season. Bird finished the season hitting .171 in 35 at bats. On November 20, 2019, the Yankees designated Bird for assignment. He became a free agent on November 27.

Texas Rangers

On February 4, 2020, Bird signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. On July 31, 2020, Bird was brought back to MLB once he was recalled by the Texas Rangers. Bird suffered an injury before he could appear in a game, and was designated for assignment on August 11 without ever playing as a Ranger. Bird elected free agency on August 14 after being outrighted to the minors.

Philadelphia Phillies

On September 15, 2020, Bird signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

organization.

Colorado Rockies

On February 11, 2021, Bird signed a minor league contract with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

organization that included an invitation to Spring Training.

Toronto Blue Jays

On March 10, 2022, Bird signed a minor league contract with the

. He was released on April 4 when he exercised an opt-out clause in his contract.

New York Yankees (second stint)

On April 4, 2022, Bird signed a minor league contract with the

. He played for the Triple–A

, hitting .218/.325/.354 with 6 home runs and 22 RBI. On July 13, Bird was released by the Yankees organization.

Québec Capitales

On August 22, 2023, Bird signed with the Québec Capitales of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

. In 11 games for Québec, Bird hit .293/.341/.390 with one home run and four RBI.

Melbourne Aces

On October 17, 2023, Bird signed with the

Melbourne Aces The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that competed in the Australian Baseball League. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona. History On 20 August 2010 it was announced ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it s ...

. In 40 games for Melbourne, Bird hit .277/.348/.539 with 40 RBI and eleven home runs, the most in the entire league for the 2023/2024 season.

Charros de Jalisco

On February 26, 2024, Bird signed with the Charros de Jalisco of the

. In 72 games for Jalisco, Bird hit .317/.399/.580 with 18 home runs and 51 RBI.

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On July 22, 2024, Bird was traded to the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the

in exchange for Steven Fuentes. He did not appear in a game for Laguna. Bird re-signed with Laguna for the 2025 season.

Personal life

Bird was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. His family moved to Colorado when he was 10 years old.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Greg 1992 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Australia American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Baseball players from Colorado Baseball players from Memphis, Tennessee Charleston RiverDogs players Charros de Jalisco players Gigantes del Cibao players Gulf Coast Yankees players Major League Baseball first basemen Melbourne Aces players New York Yankees players Québec Capitales players Scottsdale Scorpions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Sportspeople from Aurora, Colorado Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players