Yankees: We interviewed Greg Bird who feels vital for the team’s success

The Yankees almost superstar Greg Bird had a few minutes to talk with the press on Thursday. Of course Call to the Pen was there.

Yankees 1B Greg Bird is in camp and ready for battle. If his body is or not remains to be seen.

And Bird is just as curious as anyone. His half-laugh evaluation of his physical struggles in 2016 and ’17 probably says it all:

“It’s been an interesting couple of years.”

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That’s certainly true. Bird missed all of 2016 after surgery to repair his right shoulder’s torn labrum, and most of 2017 with an ankle injury that refused to be properly diagnosed.

But when he played, he played like a superstar, especially in the playoffs.

In 13 postseason games last year Bird collected 10 hits, three of which were homers while another two were doubles. That made it easy for him to account for six of the Yankees RBI’s and come home to score five times himself.

Add that to his 12 walks and his OPS of .938 makes a lot of sense. That was highest on the team by a wide margin over second place finisher Didi Gregorius (.845)

It was the kind of production that might have helped the Yankees win the division last year, had Bird played more than 48 games.

Now, Bird feels every bit of his vitality.

Getting Off on the Good Foot

“I got to take care of some stuff in the off-season, ankle stuff. I feel good…”

And he better if he wants to turn Yankee’s Stadium into his personal Casa de Suenos. Because, for Bird, staying healthy is just the beginning of his dreams; he hopes to bat in the middle of the order.

On most teams, even Yankees teams, a healthy G-Bird would automatically be penciled in at three, four or five. Or at least six. But that might be a bit much to ask in 2018.

This is a team, after all, that features both the American League and National League home run leaders from 2017 in RF/DH Aaron Judge and RF/DH Giancarlo Stanton, respectively.

That is not Bird’s only competition, however.

Didi Gregorius batted clean-up for most of 2017, although it was the Yankees that cleaned up. Sir Didi used his newfound left-handed power to swat 25 home runs which greatly facilitated his 87 Ribbies. And remember, he did that in just 136 games.

Were he to play ten percent more games in 2018, it is reasonable to think he might be able to reach 30 and 100, respectively. And so he might be the best candidate to either split Judge and Stanton, which seems unlikely, or be the first lefty up to help protect them.

If that were to be true, the Yankees might look to another right-handed batter at six.

History in the Making

Gary Sanchez is off to an historic offensive start for catchers. He hit 33 home runs last year, joining a group of only three catchers in MLB history to hit at least 30 in one of their first two seasons: Mike Piazza (1993), Earl Williams (1971) and Rudy York (1937).

New York Yankees

And for his total of 177 games played, barely more than a season, he has hit 53 home runs while collecting 132 RBI’s. That’s the type of protection Didi can and did thrive in front of.

That lineup would push Bird to seventh. That can’t be a good thing for the 2018 Yankees.

But as much as history works against Bird in terms of injuries, it works for him in his desire to bat in the middle. Last year saw the lefty-swinging Brett Gardner lead off followed by righty Judge. If that line-up is maintained, Greg will likely find a home in the three hole.

However, while the season might start that way, there is a very good chance that the younger and more dynamic 2B Gleyber Torres takes over the top spot. And the problem for Bird is that Torres bats from the right.

So, as each spot in the lineup is predicated on the others, that might precipitate Bird batting second. That would leave the Yankees free to bat Judge third, Stanton fourth and perhaps the lefty Didi afterwards.

Let’s Not Argue

Some might argue that batting Bird after Stanton makes the most sense in this scenario. Ironically, Bird’s talent might work against him: He is just too good to bat that low in the order. The Yankees will undoubtedly be better off if Bird is among their top four batters in plate appearances.

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But will Greg Bird? I got the sense in speaking to him that his ultimate goal is that the Yankees win as many games as possible and stand as the last team in baseball. And he definitely knows what is coming.

“It’s not a surprise any more. We’re a good team and people know that. They’re going to come after us and we are going to go after them, and that’s how it’s going to be.”

It does seem as if that is how it is going to be for the Yankees in 2018. How it goes for Greg Bird remains to be seen.