Two years ago, Colorado Rockies reliever Jake Bird caught the attention of Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper. This season, Bird is grabbing plenty of attention once again, but this time as one of the most statistically solid bullpen pieces in all of baseball.

The same passion and confidence that drew the much-publicized ire of Harper after a strikeout in 2023 is still there for the 29-year-old Bird. This season, however, he’s channeling that into a 1.74 ERA through his first 31.0 innings of the year.

“There aren’t many players I’ve run into that have the confidence in themselves that Jake Bird does,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He knows he’s a good pitcher. He has extreme confidence in himself, and his stuff is nasty. When he’s right, his stuff is nasty, and it’s always been like that.”

The “nasty” arsenal that Bird has employed this season has included more sliders than he has ever thrown during his four seasons with Colorado. The pitch has overtaken his sinker as his most-thrown weapon and has been effective as opponents are hitting just .194 against it.

“I’ve just been trusting the calls from Goody (catcher Hunter Goodman) and (catcher Jacob) Stallings. That’s how it’s developed over the course of the year,” Bird explained about his slider usage. “It seems like it’s keeping guys off-balance.”

It is, as has most of Bird’s pitches this season, as his 30.2 percent strikeout rate is among the top 10 percent of all MLB pitchers. Bird credits his strong 2025 to a change in his mental approach on the mound.

“I’m really taking value in every day and every pitch,” Bird said. “Before, if I missed too badly and was noncompetitive, which you never want to do, I was like, ‘I’m not commanding it well right now. I really have to make up for it by making some better pitches here after putting myself in a hole.’ Now, I’m just really trying to move on.

“If I make one noncompetitive pitch, I’m trying to get myself back into a pocket where that’s behind me now. I’m moving on right here, staying confident and aggressive in the zone and trusting my stuff.”

Bird’s aggressiveness in the zone was apparent during Friday’s 3-2 win over the New York Yankees. Entering the game in the seventh inning, he needed just 18 pitches to get through the frame, with 15 of those pitches going for strikes.

“He’s been one of our best players all year,” Schaeffer said. “I think everybody feels comfortable with Birdman coming in as the fireman, getting outs and getting us back to the dugout.

“He’s consistently good.”

Bird is also consistently bringing a different version of himself to the mound as well. If you talk to Bird before or after a game, you will be met by a soft-spoken, thoughtful individual. However, Bird transforms on the mound into someone who can be loud and isn’t afraid to show his emotion after recording a big out.

“It was the same way growing up with my buddies back home,” Bird explained. “We were good kids and were taking care of business in the classroom during the week. But on Friday night or Saturday, we’re going to the basketball court to shoot around or at someone’s house playing video games, all of a sudden, there’s a lot of (trash) talking.

“I guess it’s a little release and a different side of me. I love the game, and I love competition, and it’s a different way for me to have fun.”

Colorado’s fifth-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft out of UCLA is indeed having fun this year. His 38 strikeouts are the most among MLB relievers and his 31.0 innings pitched so far this season ranks second.

The numbers are much different this season than last year when Bird logged a 4.50 ERA in 40.0 innings and he bounced between Denver and Triple-A Albuquerque. Bird points back to a change he made after the Harper incident in 2023 as perhaps part of the reasons for his struggle.

“In ’23, I was having a really good stretch where I was doing the emotion stuff a lot going in there. And then that game, that event, happened. I think after that, I started thinking about it a little more, where I don’t want to show up people or get them angry, so I stopped doing it. Maybe that was part of the reason I wasn’t quite as sharp moving forward.

“I talked about it with people in my family and we discussed how I can be smart about it. I can’t show guys up or be a jerk about it, but that’s also how I compete. So, I have to be myself and I can’t hold back.”

Bird’s teammates like who he is, on and off the mound, as well as how he fits into exactly what the Rockies are trying to accomplish with their bullpen setup for the late innings.

“He’s been way more on the attack this year,” said fellow reliever Tyler Kinley, who has been Bird’s teammate for four seasons. “It feels like he has been in better counts. There are a lot less 2-2 or 3-2 counts for him. I feel like he’s going right at guys, getting 0-1 and 0-2 counts and that puts him in the driver’s seat.

“I think that’s allowed his growth and his confidence in his stuff. He’s attacking guys and putting them away early, which is just what you want to do.”