There probably isn’t a Yankees fan who doesn’t look back on Greg Bird with at least some fondness.
He was supposed to be the heir apparent to Mark Teixeira at first base. Standing 6-foot-5 with power potential ensured that. Cut to 11 home runs in 46 games in the latter half of the 2015 season, and fans got excited.
Then, Bird blew out his shoulder and missed all of 2016. But it wasn’t such bad news, he would just be ready for 2017 at full strength. Bird proved the original Kyle Higashioka spring training sensation and hit eight home runs in Florida…and then struggled for a month before needing ankle surgery.