Yankees’ Greg Bird responds to criticism from Tyler Austin’s father

Here is what Yankees first baseman Greg Bird had to say after first hearing that he was mocked on Twitter by that father of former teammate Tyler Austin, who recently was traded to the Minnesota Twins.

MIAMI— Yankees first baseman Greg Bird looked baffled Tuesday when NJ Advance Media approached with a question:

Did you hear from Tyler Austin recently?

“No, why,” Bird responded.

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Bird had no clue that his struggles at the plate had been mocked by his former teammate and buddy’s father in recent tweets that were discovered Monday and then quickly deleted.

“I was at the zoo holding monkeys on my off day having a great time,” Bird said with a grin before going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts in the Yankees’ 2-1, 12-inning win over the Miami Marlins.

Bird was miffed hearing for the first time that he was called out by Chris Austin in tweets that came off as bitterness because his son, who also plays first base, was traded by the Yankees to the Minnesota Twins on July 30 instead of being made the starter over Bird.

When Tyler Austin homered in his Twins debut on Aug 11, his father tweeted, “18 home runs for Tyler on the year (counting Triple-A) but Bird is the word.”

A week later, Chris Austin tweeted, “Tyler has more hits with the Twins in a week than Bird has in a month with the Yankees.”

Smiling, Bird responded, “Oh man, that’s tough. Obviously, it’s not Tyler saying stuff. I have a great relationship with him.”

Asked if he’d ever met Chris Austin, Bird answered, “Never … He did a great job raising Tyler because Tyler’s a great guy and he’s got a good attitude and he’s been through a lot.

“I talked to him the other day when he got called up by the Twins. I told him, ‘I’m happy for you. You’re a big leaguer.’ He is a big-league player. And he’s been through a lot (of injuries), just like me. So we have a lot of respect for each other.”

Bird says this incident absolutely will not add tension to his friendship with Austin, who is hitting .370 for the Twins with three homers and six RBI in eight games.

“Parents … people get emotional about things and they say stuff,” said Bird, who is batting .206 with 11 homers and 35 RBI in 71 games. “Those things happen, but it doesn’t change my opinion of Tyler.

“I’ve seen a lot of what he’s been through and he’s seen a lot of what I’ve been through, so I’m excited to see him in Minnesota when we go there next month.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.