SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS

Rookie Bird making big impact and enjoying the ride

Greg Bird looked like the last player the Yankees needed when the first baseman was called up to the majors on Aug. 13. Brought up to serve as a backup to Mark Teixeira, Bird appeared to be in line for little playing time, and possibly sent back down to TripleA before unpacking his bags.

Teixeira had been the team’s best player, providing the most reliable glove on the team as well as its most powerful bat, bouncing back from a slew of injuryplagued campaigns which had quieted the AllStar over the past few years. He had changed his diet and his workouts and looked as good as ever, with his improved health allowing him to join the AL MVP conversation.

Then, Teixeira fouled a ball off his right shin, ultimately ending his season, and suddenly, the 22yearold was needed — even if the Yankees didn’t realize how much.

Since stepping onto the scene, Bird has superseded even the most optimistic expectations, slugging from the start a la Kevin Maas and Shane Spencer. Entering Saturday’s game against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium, Bird had reached base in 12 straight games, had homered in five of his previous 10 games with a plate appearance and was tied with Chris Davis for the most home runs in the AL this month (eight).

A fifth round pick in 2011, Bird became just the 24th player in 101 years to hit 10 home runs in his first 34 career games, hitting one of the season’s biggest shots on Sept. 22 with a threerun, 10th inning shot in Toronto.

“It’s been a hell of an experience so far,” Bird said before Saturday’s game. “At first it was like, whoa, I’m in here, but then once you adjust it’s baseball and you come to work and you get your work in and you do your routine. But still, sometimes I do just pinch myself, and go, there’s 50,000 people in Toronto just screaming at me right now.

“It’s everything I expected and more. It’s awesome. It’s the big leagues. It’s what you’ve worked your life towards and dreamed of.”

Though Bird started the season at DoubleA Trenton, he said he believed there was a possibility he would be in The Bronx this season, helping his transition when the call actually came.

“It’s something that I’ve been prepared for a while now,” Bird said. “Not knowing when it was going to happen, just being ready for it whenever it happened was huge. If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past few years playing pro ball is you just need to go out and play. You can’t worry about stuff, you can’t focus on things you can’t control.”

What the Yankees control is reaching the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, in part to Bird’s incredible offensive production coming while the rest of the lineup has limped to the end of the regular season.

Two months ago, Bird didn’t exist to most fans, with his callup providing no reason for excitement or expectations. But after less than 50 career games, Bird likely will be in the playoffs, as important as any position player on the team.

“It’s obviously really exciting,” Bird said about the postseason. “We just got to finish up strong and finish the season right way.”