Taking Flight With Greg Bird

Wingack

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We all know about his freak injury history that has really held him back. But at the same we have seen what he can do in spurts. There was his 11 HRs at the end of 2015. His monster spring training this year where he lead everyone in every thing. And right now, the kid is hot again.

He has 6 HRs and 15 RBIs over his last 12 games. In a lot of ways he is the missing offensive piece, a young left handed power bat that can also take a walk. He has that kind of swing that just exploits the short porch in right.

Nestling him in between Judge and Sanchez for the next 8 years has Yankees fans across the USA drooling.
 

jon abbey

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What's especially huge about this hot streak is that it helps solidify his place going forward, because if he hadn't come back this year and done well, I think NY was going to have to bring in someone in the offseason. These last few weeks probably kill any small chance there was of NY going after Hosmer, although I still hope NY considers Duda as 1B/DH insurance if they can get him on a one year deal.
 

terrynever

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If the team doctors had diagnosed his ankle condition properly in April, Yankees might have got an extra two months out of a healthy Bird. But we're all happy he came back in time to reconfirm his status as an emerging star, a lefty bat in between Judge and Sanchez. How much protection does Bird give Judge next year? Maybe enough so that Judge is not pitched around as much as we are seeing right now.
 

luckysox

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I thought this was going to be about him getting his pilot's license, and truly, I was scared for all of you.

In the spirit of the thread, I'll say this: you guys have some ridiculously talented power hitters that are lined up for bit here, and Bird is one of them, assuming he can stay on the field. As a Sox fan I very much hope he does not have the chance to blossom, but as a baseball fan, Judge, Sanchez, Bird is potentially a three man power group for the ages.
 

terrynever

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Bird doesn't have to be great. Just stay healthy, hit 30 homers, OPS around .750, adequately field his position. Balance the lineup, hit enough to give Judge or Sanchez protection so that they don't get pitched around.
 

jon abbey

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Nine of his ten homers in the LL bandbox and a 387 road OPS. Let's hold off on any proclamations of greatness.
Career home/road splits:

Bird .843/.735
Pedroia .856/.759

It's not too relevant if you're talking about how much the player is likely to help their current team, home games count too. It matters if you're trying to determine the value of a player for an award or because he might switch teams, but neither of those is the case here.
 

jon abbey

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Also Bird has a bit of an unusual season to analyze, as he tried to play through his foot injury and just couldn't, he was awful. Since coming back, he's mostly played in home games, .913 OPS overall in 92 PAs, 66 at home and 26 on the road. It's all really small sample sizes, and like I said skewed by his horrendous April, but signs in the last few weeks are certainly promising.
 

Murderer's Crow

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Nine of his ten homers in the LL bandbox and a 387 road OPS. Let's hold off on any proclamations of greatness.
That's because we've been at home practically the entire month of September and he only came back from his injury mid-August. Reading stat lines doesn't mean anything for this sample size.
 

Wingack

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Huge hit tonight obviously. Just loved his swing on that Miller pitch. It is so perfect for Yankee Stadium.

And, this isn't something we really ever considered, but ARod was talking about him as a real leader in the clubhouse and a future potential captain. Whether that happens or not it doesn't matter, but if he has some leadership skills behind the scenes that is bonus.
 

jon abbey

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A-Rod compared him to John Olerud again after the game, yes please.
 

terrynever

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A-Rod compared him to John Olerud again after the game, yes please.
His swing does remind everyone of Olerud. Bird has more power but he'll have to do a lot better in terms of contact to match Olerud's lifetime batting average of .295. Olerud hit over .350 twice in his career, once with Toronto and later with the Mets. Olerud's lifetime OBP was .398. OPS for career of .863. (Bird could match or exceed that number.)
Let's see what Bird can do in a full season. If he stays healthy next year, it will be fascinating to see the combined power numbers of him, Judge and Sanchez. Figuring Judge may never match 52 homers again but if he is a 40-homer hitter, and the other two are 30-plus, that is a lot of home runs from the middle of the order.