Why Yankees’ Greg Bird feels close to breaking out at plate

Yankees first baseman Greg Bird feels better about his swing, but he’s still waiting for that to translate into results at the plate. He went 1-for-4 as the DH in the 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, June 17, 2018 (6/17/18).

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NEW YORK — Greg Bird feels close. Even with the results not there yet for the Yankees first baseman, he feels better about his at bats.

A 1-for-4 effort in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium gave Bird a modest four-game hitting streak, but outside of a sixth-inning single, he failed to come through in a couple key spots.

Bird flew out to left field with two outs in the first inning after the Yankees put runners on the corners, and he later grounded out with shortstop Didi Gregorius on second with one out.

“There’s been some situations where I’ve come up in big spots with guys on and great at bats in front of me, and I just haven’t been able to get it done,” Bird said. “So that frustrates me more than anything. You’ve just got to keep going.”

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Bird is hitting .215 with 14 hits in 66 at bats since his season debut on May 27. He missed nearly two months to start the season after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur in his right ankle.

And despite clubbing two home runs in June, Bird has just three RBI in the month to show for his efforts. Considering Bird has seen significant time in the middle of the Yankees’ potent lineup, it hasn’t translated into any significant numbers yet.

While he’s still waiting for the results to show, Bird does feel a difference in his swing quality compared to the start of his season.

“I wasn’t as consistent early with getting my swing off, getting my best swing,” Bird said. “I feel like the last couple days I’ve been getting my best swing off most of the time. That’s pretty much it for me.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he wasn’t concerned with Bird’s progress. Boone has seen Bird engaged in more at-bats in recent games, and that process should lead to production.

“It’s just a matter of him really getting locked in to where some of those fly balls he’s hitting off the barrel start really going in for extra-base hits,” Boone said. “Which, since he’s come back, he’s done a pretty good job of impacting some balls with some extra-base hits.”  

Bird served as the Yankees’ designated hitter on Sunday, giving him a day off in the field. While that break allowed him to focus on hitting for one day, he said sometimes that’s not always the best thing.

“I like playing both sides of the ball, I really do. DHing, it’s a gift and a curse,” he said. “You get to sit in there and think about it sometimes, which is good and bad.”

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