Bird Is the Word

CHARLESTON, SC-- Maturity usually comes with age. For Charleston RiverDogs first baseman Greg Bird, it arrived naturally.

The 20-year-old standout from Aurora, Col., is rapidly gaining an impressive reputation for his maturity and demeanor that are way beyond his years.

He states that he began playing baseball while in diapers as he hit off a plastic tee. By the time he was 4, he was playing t-ball and like many young boys, he simply loved all sports but primarily hockey and basketball. However, that changed once his family moved from Memphis, TN to Colorado.

"When we moved I became more serious about baseball," recalled Bird. "By the time I was 12, I started playing travel ball and realized I had a passion for it more than any other sport."

Bird was drafted as a catcher by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. He committed to a scholarship to play in the Southeastern Conference at the University of Arkansas, but ultimately realized that he couldn't pass up the offer from the Bronx Bombers.

"Getting drafted by the New York Yankees was a true honor," he said. "There is just so much history there and so many great players have come out of the organization."

While Bird considered being drafted by New York an honor, it was still a tough decision to forego the once-in-a-lifetime collegiate career at Arkansas and go straight to professional ball.

"It came down to the fact that my dream and basically my whole life was to play professional baseball, so I decided to just go for it," he admitted.

Going straight from high school to the professional ranks is a difficult adjustment for any player. Even with Bird's mature and pleasing personality, it was still a challenge.

"I had never really done my own laundry, as my mom always did it," laughed Bird. "When I first signed and I went down for that first month, it was tough. I was a little homesick."

The first-season jitters at the Gulf Coast League's Yankees last summer didn't last very long. After his first season, he was ready to advance.

"The following season I was excited to get out of the house and experience being on my own," he admitted. "Once I learned how to do all those things of being on your own, I adjusted well."

Bird can list many advantages to playing professional ball and his only non-positive is the food. Since it isn't home cooking, it appears that he is not alone in that category.

"It's living the life," he explained. "You create so many friendships and you're around guys from all over the globe. I enjoy getting to know the guys from different places and their cultures, and how it was for them growing up playing baseball in different countries."

Thus far Bird has enjoyed a great first season in Charleston, having overcome past injuries that made him change from catcher to first base. One of his primary goals for this season is to stay healthy.

"I haven't been able to play for an extended amount of time, so I just have to be prepared like I always do by taking reps during the spring and just working hard every day."

Like his teammates, Bird's ultimate goal is to make it to "The Show." Having already been invited to the big league camp, he now knows what he has to do to advance his career.

"I saw how consistent those guys were, whether they felt good or not," he elaborated. "As they say, it is a marathon and not a sprint. It's just working hard and the results will come."

Along with his skills, Bird's mature demeanor will certainly help him down the road. For that, he rightfully thanks his parents.

"I think my upbringing has attributed to my reputation as being very mature," Bird explained. "I'm very self-motivating because neither of my parents played sports, but they were always very supportive and always let me enjoy whatever I chose to do."

--RIVERDOGS--