Yankees playoffs: The baby bombers are serving notice in the ALDS

Making up for Lost Time

Of course, the other hero of Game 3 is Bird. Like Tanaka, he came into the postseason seeking to salvage a disappointing 2017. He has done that, and in the process become the Yankees’ most important postseason performer.

And that is not because he is the single biggest offensive force on this team, hitting .286/.444/.714. Being Bird, you know that his four hits, second on the team, were not all singles. Greg has two home runs, one more memorable than the other.

All of that has helped him score three runs and drive in three while collecting 10 total bases, tied for team lead. If he did nothing else, his line in his first extended playoffs would still make him the Yankees hitting hero.

Joining Yankees Legends

But he became much more than that when he hit a solo home run in Game 3, the only run the Yankees got or needed. When he did, he jumped on the list of all-time Yankees, an important feat to be considered a true Baby Bomber.

Both Judge and Sanchez had already made their way onto lists of Yankees’ legends. Now, Bird joined bomber greats Jorge Posada and Ol’ Reliable Tommy Henrich as the only three to hit solo home runs in 1-0 Yankees playoff wins.

Casey Stengel did it once, but it was against the Yankees, not fer ’em.

Already, these Baby Bombers are straight substituting their heroics for those of the previous generation.

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Even that is not the reason Bird has become the indispensable Yankees position player. For that honor, a player must lead with intensity. You can’t just enjoy the playoff experience and want to win. No, not if you’re a Yankee.

The Fire Inside

You have to burn in your desire to win: Every game, every inning, every pitch. A fire must rise from your belly and form an almost visible, burning red ring around your being. It must engulf you and ignite your team like they’re made of paper and gas.

Greg Bird did that in Game 3. Not by hitting that clutch home run, but by his reaction to it. Here’s Todd Frazier after he greeted Bird:

"“He gave me a big forearm shiver and I couldn’t really feel my forearm for a couple minutes,” Frazier said. “That’s why I took the first pitch, to get my feeling back.”"

By the time Bird hit the dugout, he was fully engulfed in a raging desire to win. Every member of the team could see it, and we could see them.

Just look at Didi’s face. He is blown away by the level of intensity, as is Judge, Castro, and every baby bomber. Didi has to recoil from the intense heat pouring off of and enveloping Greg Bird. He showed everyone in that moment that Bob and Kirk Gibson level of intensity that it takes to win, and become legends.

That’s a visceral lesson that will have far more consequences over the next decade than even his heroic home run.

But even with all of that, players don’t win games, teams do. And there would be no Game 5 had Luis Severino not demanded retribution.