Greg Bird has long been lauded for his patience. He debuted with a slow approach to the game that reminded evaluators of John Olerud’s. He rehabbed a shoulder injury the entire 2016 season. Foot surgery shelved him for over 100 games in 2017.
“I want to be a part of this,” he said in July.
On Thursday night, Bird was done being patient. He’d rehabbed. He’d fought for playing time. Now, he’d take the outcome of Game 3 of the ALDS into his own hands.
Bird turned on a 96 mph heater from Andrew Miller and hit a moonshot homer into the rightfield seats to keep the Yankees alive with a 1–0 win over Cleveland.