Jake Bird Bio
Jacob Timothy Bird, known professionally as Jake Bird, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He debuted in the major leagues with the Colorado Rockies in 2022 and joined the Yankees in a midseason trade during 2025. A right-handed reliever known for his heavy sinker and ground-ball tendencies, Bird previously played college baseball for the UCLA Bruins, where he led the Pac-12 Conference in earned run average as a senior.
Early Life and Background
Jacob Timothy Bird was born on December 4, 1995, in Newhall, California, and raised in the nearby community of Valencia, California. He grew up in a family with deep ties to the University of California, Los Angeles, as his father also attended the school. Bird has three brothers, including one older brother and two younger brothers, and his family background reflects a mix of Jewish and Catholic heritage, with his paternal grandmother being Jewish and his mother a Catholic.
Bird attended West Ranch High School in Stevenson Ranch, California, where he pitched and played outfield for the baseball team and also played basketball. In his senior year, he posted a 1.55 earned run average with 72 strikeouts and only 11 walks over 58 innings, earning All-Foothill League honors in 2014. That same year, he committed to attend UCLA to play college baseball. Even at a young age, Bird showed confidence in his future, signing his second-grade yearbooks with a message asking friends to save his autograph for when he was playing in the major leagues.
Path to Baseball
After going unselected in the 2014 MLB draft, Bird enrolled at UCLA, where he majored in economics and continued to develop as a pitcher. In the summer of 2016, he played collegiate baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League, going 3–2 with a 2.77 earned run average as a starter. As a junior, he posted a 5–5 record with a 2.75 ERA, refining a pitching repertoire built around a heavy sinker, a hard slider, a changeup, and a curveball.
His senior season in 2018 proved to be his breakthrough at the college level. Bird went 7–4 across 16 starts, leading the Pac-12 Conference with a 2.18 ERA while striking out 61 batters in 111 and two-thirds innings. He was named All-Pac-12, Pac-12 All-Academic first team, and Academic All-America third team. Following the season, the Colorado Rockies selected him in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB draft.
Jake Bird Career
Early Career (2018–2021)
Bird signed with the Rockies for a $50,000 signing bonus and made his professional debut in 2018 with the Grand Junction Rockies of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, going 4–1 with a 3.38 ERA and 30 strikeouts in relief over 26 and two-thirds innings. In 2019, he advanced to the Single-A Asheville Tourists and was named a South Atlantic League All-Star after posting a 7–2 record with two saves, a 3.62 ERA, and 80 strikeouts across 87 innings in 40 games. Bird did not pitch competitively in 2020 after the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he used the time to study pitching analytics and body movement, which increased his fastball velocity.
Bird opened the 2021 season with the Hartford Yard Goats of the Double-A Northeast, generating a 70.9 percent ground-ball rate, before being promoted to the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Triple-A West in early June. Across 39 appearances between the two clubs, he went 6–1 with a 3.38 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 58 and two-thirds innings. After the season, he pitched for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, going 0–1 with a save and a 2.84 ERA.
Colorado Rockies Breakthrough (2022–2025)
Bird returned to Albuquerque to start the 2022 season and was called up by the Rockies on June 11, 2022. He made his MLB debut on June 16, throwing one scoreless inning of relief against the Cleveland Guardians, and earned his first MLB win on July 3 after pitching a scoreless eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In his rookie year, he appeared in 38 games, going 2–4 with a 4.91 ERA across 47 and two-thirds innings.
An oblique injury during spring training kept him out of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and Bird was briefly optioned to the minors before being recalled on Opening Day after Daniel Bard went on the injured list. He became Colorado’s most-used reliever that season, going 3–3 with a 4.33 ERA in 89 and one-third innings and tying for the major league lead among relievers with 84 and one-third innings pitched. His 70 appearances led the Rockies and ranked eighth in the National League, while his 52.6 percent ground-ball rate was the highest among Rockies pitchers with more than 25 innings. In 2024, he earned his first MLB save on April 8, though elbow and groin injuries limited him to a 2–2 record with one save and a 4.50 ERA in 40 innings. Before his midseason trade in 2025, Bird posted a 4–1 record with a 4.73 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 53 and one-third innings across 45 games for the Rockies.
New York Yankees Era (2025–Present)
On July 31, 2025, the Rockies traded Jake Bird to the New York Yankees in exchange for Roc Riggio and Ben Shields. After struggling in three early outings, including surrendering a grand slam in a loss to the Miami Marlins and a walk-off home run to the Texas Rangers, the Yankees demoted him to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on August 5. He did not return to the major leagues that year, finishing with a 27.00 ERA in New York and a 6.32 ERA in Triple-A.
Driving Style and Strengths
Bird is a ground-ball pitcher who throws from a low-slot, sidearm delivery. His sinker, which he throws about 50 percent of the time, averages 95 mph and generates significant tailing action to induce ground balls, while he also features a 91 mph cutter. Beginning in 2024, Bird began throwing his two fastballs less often in favor of an 85 mph slider, which he converted into a sweeper, and an 81 mph changeup. He has noted that his pitches generally move less when pitching at Coors Field.
Notable Events and Milestones
Bird’s 2023 season was a career highlight, as he tied for the major league lead among relievers with 84 and one-third innings pitched, the ninth-most in Rockies history by a reliever. He also drew national attention in May 2023 when he was ejected from a win over the Philadelphia Phillies after apparently taunting Bryce Harper following a strikeout, sparking a bench-clearing brawl. His first MLB save came on April 8, 2024, against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Jake Bird Career Wins
Across his MLB career, Jake Bird has compiled wins as a relief pitcher for the Colorado Rockies and the New York Yankees, with the bulk of his victories coming during his standout 2023 and 2025 seasons in Colorado.
MLB Highlights
Bird earned his first major league win on July 3, 2022, after pitching a scoreless eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He recorded his first MLB save on April 8, 2024, also against the Diamondbacks. His most recent win came during the 2025 season with the Rockies before his midseason trade to the Yankees.
Jake Bird Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Bird grew up in a close family in Newhall and Valencia, California, with three brothers and parents who were heavily involved in his athletic development. His father also attended UCLA, continuing a family connection to the university where Bird would later star. His mother, a teacher, brought home an electronic keyboard from her classroom, and Bird took up playing the instrument as a way to decompress after pitching in home games.
Personal Life
Bird is of Jewish heritage on his father’s side and Catholic heritage on his mother’s side, and he has publicly identified as Jewish. When he was promoted to the majors in 2022, he was roommates with Rockies battery-mate Brian Serven, and the following year he lived in a Denver hotel during the season. In his free time, Bird enjoys playing the electronic keyboard he acquired from his mother in 2020.
2025 Season Performance
Jake Bird began the 2025 season with the Colorado Rockies and was one of the team’s most reliable relievers before the trade deadline. In 45 games with Colorado, he posted a 4–1 record with a 4.73 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 53 and one-third innings, continuing his reputation as a ground-ball specialist out of the bullpen.
His season changed dramatically on July 31, 2025, when the Rockies traded him to the New York Yankees for infielder Roc Riggio and pitcher Ben Shields. After three turbulent appearances, including allowing a grand slam to the Miami Marlins and a walk-off home run to the Texas Rangers, the Yankees optioned him to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on August 5. He did not return to the major league roster, finishing the year with a 27.00 ERA in New York and a 6.32 ERA in Triple-A.
Looking ahead, Bird will look to reestablish himself in the Yankees bullpen and recapture the durable form he showed during his 2023 campaign, when he led Rockies relievers in appearances. With his established sinker-cutter-slider repertoire and his track record of high ground-ball rates, he remains a candidate for a bounce-back role in the Yankees relief corps.
