When Jake Bird strikes out a batter at Coors Field, a triumphant bird’s screech echoes across the ballpark.
Lately, that sound effect has been getting a lot of work given that currently, Bird ‘s 52 strikeouts tie him for first with Griffin Jax among relievers. Of those Ks, 33 were at Coors compared to 19 on the road.
As of Monday, he leads all MLB relievers in innings (40.1) with Kyle Leahy and Mitch Spence only an inning behind. Bird has a 2.23 ERA, an 11.6 K/9 (26th), a 3.57 BB/9, and 0.45 HR/9 (47th).
He is, in short, putting together an All-Star worthy résumé. Yes, he scuffled some over the weekend at Truist Park in Atlanta, but that’s baseball, so let’s consider the larger picture, especially with Bird and the trade deadline becoming topics of conversation.
Where’s he at compared to other seasons?
On thing’s that clear is that Bird’s stuff is better in 2025 than it was in 2024 and more consistent with his 2023 self.
To review, in 2022, the Colorado Rockies called Bird up, and he pitched 47.2 innings, finishing the season with a fairly meh 4.91 ERA.
His potential became clear in 2023 when he was as I wrote then, “The Rockies’ Iron Man.” That year, Bird pitched 84 1⁄3 innings, tying him with the Detroit Tigers’ Tyler Holton for the most innings thrown by any MLB reliever.
He went on to finish the season with a 4.27 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.354 WHIP, and a 7.9 K/9. He surrendered six home runs and walked 27, striking out 77 (with 52 of those Ks coming in the first half of the season and 25 in the second half).
However, in 2024, all that pitching caught up with him.
Bird only threw 40.0 innings and had a final ERA of 4.50. Those numbers were the result of right elbow inflammation in May and a groin strain in June. Additionally, between June 10 and September 20, he was optioned and recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque six times.
This season, though, he is back. It’s the result of a number of factors, including improved mental health skills as well as some pitching adjustments.
What mental health adjustments did he make?
Earlier this month, Bird told Thomas Harding that part of his success this season stemmed from following the advice of his UCLA coach John Savage: “Pitch to pitch, get your breath.”
For Bird, that means finding ways to stay present.
“If you make a bad pitch, there’s some times you can let it linger and kind of think about it and try to make up for it in the next pitch,” Bird said. “It’s a mindset of taking it, processing it, taking that breath, but then you’re resetting your focus on the next pitch, letting whatever just happened go and just staying present on what you’re doing.”
Part of that focus stems from journaling, a process he shares with fellow Rockies Chase Dollander and Kyle Freeland. He’d keep some notes, but last summer, he became more focused.
“I really got an extra sense of extra sense of urgency, so I made a little document in the Sheets app on my phone to keep track of a lot of different things. And I’ve kept that every day since I started doing it in late July, and so it’s been a good tool.”
He found it especially valuable during the offseason when he was tracking changes.
“It’s a good reference tool to look back and be like, ‘Oh, what was my process this week where things were going well?’”
He extends that into his in-season arm care routine.
“I’m writing it down every day after I do it. But if we have a long stretch of games, like 12 or 13 in row, I might see, oh, I’ve just done this arm care like seven days in a row, probably good to give myself a day off.”
How’s the pitch mix?
Bird mostly throws a slider (40.5), sinker (35.2%), and curveball (20.9%) with an occasional cutter and four-seamer to keep things interesting.
Notably, he’s using his slider more than his sinker this year, which marks a career shift for him.
For Bird, it was all about becoming more effective.
“Looking at some stuff from the past few years, I kind of had a better idea of what I wanted to do with that stuff,” Bird said.
He discussed the changes with the Rockies coaching and catching staff, who provided him with feedback.
“For the most part, since then, it’s kind of been trusting whatever the catcher has been calling,” Bird said, though he’s not hesitant to call the pitch himself when the moment arises.
Also notable is the vertical movement on his sinker, which is getting 4.7” of vertical movement compared to 3.2” in 2024.
He’s made some adjustments.
“I think when I first came up in 2022, it had similar vertical movement to what it’s had this year,” Bird said, “and from 2022, 23, and 24, it just lost a little bit. So that was one of my focuses in off season.”
He got some help, had “some kind of luck,” as Bird put it, and figured out how to get the pitch to do what he wanted it to do.
There’s some alchemy in his process.
“I do a lot of stuff on my own and try a lot of stuff,” he said.
“I watch videos online of other people talking about theirs all the time, and then just randomly talk to people and pick up a little nugget that helps out.”
Turns out, old friend Justin Lawrence, now with the Pittsburgh Pirates, was one of those “other people” who helped out by forwarding a random Instagram video.
Growing up, Bird learned his sinker grip from a friend of his father’s, who referred to the pitch as a “screwball.”
After that, Bird just “kind of messed with it.” He added, “I always grip my sinker in a weird way.”
Jake Bird’s Sinker Grip
Renee Dechert
However, the video Lawrence found helped Bird understand better what he was doing. It included a Japanese name for the pitch to which Lawrence added, “Oh, this is what your sinker is.”
After that, things fell into place.
“Seeing somebody show the grip and talk about it, instead of it just being something that I kind of thought I’d made up, it kind of helped me find some cues and keys with it to simplify it a little bit. So it’s random stuff like that.”
He also learned some tips from former Rockie Scott Alexander.
“I was having a little trouble commanding it during spring, and we talked about it for a little while,” Bird said. “He’s a really smart guy.”
Alexander suggested that Bird step back further when doing flat-ground work with his sinker.
“So I started doing that, and that helped me stay over the plate a lot better.”
What’s the best pitch he’s thrown so far this year?
I ask a lot of pitchers this question, and usually they have one to describe.
I’ve never gotten an answer like Bird’s before.
“I can’t think of one specific one,” he said.
“One of my keys this year has just been, obviously, you want to learn from every outing you have, but even though it’s been good, I’m trying to, even when I have a good day, once I go to bed that night, leave it behind me. Today is a new day where I have to prove myself just as much as any other day.
“So I think maybe that’s why I’m having trouble picking out one specific pitch.”
Closing thoughts
It’s been a year of growth for Jake Bird with many wondering if he will finish the season with the Rockies.
In the meantime, fans can enjoy those bird screeches bouncing around Coors Field, a testament to the work he has put in.
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This week on the internet
The announcers in the NBC Sports booth were having some fun.
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Blackmon carving out a role as special assistant with Rockies |MLB.com
Thomas Harding catches up with Charlie Blackmon as he explores the workings of the Colorado Rockies — and perhaps gets some ideas of what he might like to do next.
I found the Kyle Farmer quotes interesting (and suspect this is not what he thought he’d signed on for during the offseason).
How the Rockies should attack MLB trade deadline to build brighter future | Denver Gazette
How can the Rockies improve? Kevin Henry has some ideas (and, yes, they involve being active at the trade deadline).
This is not, I realize a Red Sox blog, and this story will be two day old before you read it. Still, I thought this was the best thing I read on the Devers trade.
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