If Yankees fans are frustrated with the odyssey of Greg Bird from potential cornerstone to a guy who can't hit or stay healthy, just imagine how the man himself feels.

Bird was as downcast as anyone about his 2018 season, the one which started two months late because of yet another surgery -- this one on his right ankle -- and ended with him losing his job to Luke Voit and hitting .199 in 272 at-bats.

So Bird sought his own Fortress of Solitude, buying a boat in November and renting a house in the Florida Keys for two weeks, according to The Athletic. It was there where Bird hoped to find it within himself to leave his 2018 season -- and the shoulder and foot surgeries from previous years -- behind him.

"Watching them go out (in the postseason) and not be able to do it with them was hard, especially having been out there the year before," Bird told the website.

Bird had trouble eating and sleeping last year, The Athletic reported. Fishing was one of his methods for peace of mind.

"Fishing's very similar to baseball in some ways," Bird said. "There's a lot of patience involved, there's skill, there's preparation, and you have to learn to take little things as positives."

Instead of returning to Denver like he normally would, Bird remained in Florida during the offseason to train and work with two Yankees coaches, and he appears to have made progress toward becoming the kind of hitter he was when he made a big first impression in the majors.

Still, Bird continues to find time for himself to be alone in thought.

"I'll get done with a day and be like, I need to go on the water," Bird said. "I'll go for … two hours, four hours, whatever I want. It's nice. You go out there, and you're by yourself, and there's just nothing else around."

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