James Douglas Bird was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1973 to 1983. Bird was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 3rd round of the 1969 amateur draft's secondary phase. During his career, Bird was used in a variety of pitching roles, frequently shifting from the bullpen to the starting rotation and back. Bird appeared in six postseason games from 1976-8, all with the Royals, and each time against the New York Yankees, posting a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched. After good work in the '76 and '77 playoffs, Bird is most known for surrendering a two-run homer to Thurman Munson in the 8th inning of Game Three during the 1978 ALCS.