The New York Yankees believe in first baseman Greg Bird and have felt that way for several years now. General manager Brian Cashman has resisted the urge to acquire a full-time upgrade, a fact that has angered some sections of the team’s fan base.
Cashman & Co. traded Tyler Austin, a right-handed hitting first baseman, to the Minnesota Twins in a package at the July trade deadline for right-hander Lance Lynn.
The move came despite the prolonged struggles of the lefty swinging Bird — he owns a .297 on-base percentage and 88 OPS+ over the past two seasons — and now, you can count Austin’s father among the “fans” who are upset with the Yankees.
First, Chris Austin posted this tweet 10 days ago, on the night Austin cranked a two-run homer in the his debut with the Twins.
The home run number he cited at the time was Austin’s total this year between the majors and minors, which is higher than Bird’s 14.
Then, on Saturday, after Austin hit another homer, his father dropped this:
Austin, 26, has hit the ground running since being called up to the Twins on Aug. 11, slashing .370/.400/.741 with three home runs in eight games. While the 25-year-old Bird did collect a grand slam in Sunday’s win over the Blue Jays, he’s batting just .140 (8-for-57) in August.
The senior Austin seemingly regrets voicing his frustration, though, and has since deleted his tweets.
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