There’s plenty going wrong for the Yankees right now, but Greg Bird’s commitment to returning to the team shouldn’t be one of the things coming under fire.
The New York Yankees are in a tailspin. There’s not much disputing that, as they’ve lost 17 of their last 23 games and now look up at the Red Sox in the AL East from a 4.5-game distance. When a team plays this poorly over an extended period, fingers are often pointed and frustrations vented.
First baseman Greg Bird struggled through 19 games this season before succumbing to an ankle injury he suffered near the end of spring training. The ailment has continually baffled the Yankees medical staff, and Bird’s recovery has been a story of stops and starts.
If you believe Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, at least one person close to the situation questions Bird’s desire to get back on the field. In a recent article, he quoted an unnamed “Yankee insider” taking aim at the injured 24-year-old:
"“You really have to wonder what’s with this guy . . . You’d think with Judge and Sanchez, the guys he came up through the system with, doing so well up here he’d want to be a part of this. Apparently not.”"
The statement reads like your typical piece of tabloid fodder. First of all, it’s from a safely anonymous source, which means we should get a grain of salt ready from the start. Bird’s critic is also described as an “insider,” not necessarily someone who actually works within the organization. It could effectively be almost anyone.
On the off-chance it does come from someone in the Yankees’ circle, it honestly sounds like something Randy Levine would say. The team president has a knack for running his mouth while failing to understand the finer points of baseball. (Dellin Betances can tell you all about that.)
Bird quickly came to his own defense, per ESPN’s Andrew Marchand:
"“I want to play,” said Bird, who has been limited to 19 games this year. “I’ve always wanted to play since I can remember. I love baseball. For me, I’m doing everything I can to come back. I love it and I want to be playing with these guys. I would hope people see it.”"
Bird is an easy target right now. After a torrid spring he was expected to play a key role on this year’s team, but it simply hasn’t come together. When the Yanks were rolling, you could overlook it. But with everything seeming to fall apart lately, it was perhaps only a matter of time before Bird found himself more firmly in the crosshairs.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Fans typically don’t have a lot of patience for injuries. In the case of Bird, who already missed all of last year too, the severity of the injury has never seemed to line up with his inability to overcome it. That adds another couple layers of vexation for the outside observer. That’s understandable. However, to question his commitment – based on what appears to be nothing but idle speculation – is flat-out unfair.
Bird is 24 years old. He’s played in only 65 major league games. This is a young player with something to prove, barely into his career, not a veteran coasting on past achievements. While we can’t know exactly what’s going on in Bird’s head, it just seems strange to accuse him of not wanting to return to action.
Bird has already enjoyed some legitimate big league success, albeit in a small sample size. In 46 games at the end of the 2015 season, he slashed .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI. He knows he can do it at this level. He knows he, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez could form a young core that propels this franchise for years to come. The injury problems over the past year and a half have no doubt been exasperating, but to think Bird would abruptly lose his drive after getting to this stage in his professional career just doesn’t add up.
Next: Brewers prepare for unexpected role as buyers
It’s anyone’s guess whether Bird can make it back in 2017. Recent reports about the possibility of surgery don’t sound very promising. Regardless, it’s fair to say his word should count a bit more than that of a shadowy, nameless source.