Baird Ready To Take His Game To The Next Level
October 06, 2016 | Baseball
By Brian Tom
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For Husky freshman Ben Baird, the road to the University of Washington could have been a tricky one to navigate. His path to Seattle could have taken several different routes and could have been derailed by roadblocks, but ultimately the Agoura Hills, Calif. native followed his heart and ended up at Montlake.
ย
Like most top high school baseball prospects, Baird knew that chances are he would face a tough decision this past June โ pursue a professional career or head to college. Baird ultimately was selected in the 20th round โ 602nd overall โ by the Cleveland Indians of the Major League Baseball Draft, but decided attending college was the best option for himself.
ย
"I went into the draft with the mindset that I always wanted to go to college, so unless the opportunity was life changing and something that I thought couldn't be done again, I knew I wanted to come to Washington," Baird said.
ย
"And fortunately that's what ended up happening. I couldn't be happier to be here."
ย
Coach Lindsay Meggs and his staff couldn't be happier either. The group of newcomers assembled by Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Jason Kelly and Assistant Coach Donegal Fergus is the first class entirely recruited by the current staff. ย They have been anticipating the arrival of this group โ ranked No. 9 by Perfect Game -- for three years, and Baird is a big reason the anticipation was so high.
ย
Baird was the highest drafted of the Huskies' talented class and a top-100 overall prospect after a stellar high school career at Agoura HS in Southern California. He played in one of the most competitive leagues in California and also excelled on the national scene, playing in the 2015 Perfect Game National Showcase, the Area Code Games representing the Milwaukee Brewers and earning Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors at the 2015 National Classic.
ย
"I played in a good league," said Baird. "We faced a lot of guys going to Division I schools and a lot of Pac-12 guys that I will play against come spring time."
ย
Playing and succeeding on the national stage also did a lot for helping Baird's confidence. "When you compete against those guys and have success, you know that when you are thrown into that situation again that you've done it before and that you can go out there and do it again and be successful."
ย
For Baird now, his first fall camp is about getting acclimated to the college level, improving every day and enjoying the process. He is bonding with his teammates and working towards getting better โ something that he is already seeing pay off.
ย
"I've learned so much already in a month and a half โ more than I have learned through my whole baseball career," Baird said. "I'm excited to see where it takes me."
ย
Baird already had a pretty solid foundation of skills and smarts. He comes from an athletic background. His father โ Dave Baird โ was a standout wide receiver at Lafayette College and had a stint in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. His grandfather was also a Division I track star at Lafayette. It was the lessons he was taught by his father and his earliest memories of playing baseball at his grandparent's house that helped mold the youngest Baird into the player he is today.
ย
"I think more than anything what my dad has taught to me is how much hard work really pays off and what it takes to be able to play at this level," said Ben. "It's nice to have someone to look up to and someone guiding you. He said that college is where he first learned how to work hard so he said he wanted to teach me how to develop that skill earlier in life than he did."
ย
Baird's earliest memories of playing baseball have roots back to playing with his dad at his grandparent's house. With his grandparent's house just down the street from where he grew up, it was easy for Baird to get plenty of practice in.
ย
"I would always go into their backyard with a plastic bat and a whiffle ball and have my dad throw it to me or underhand it to me until one day I finally hit it over the fence in their backyard," he reminisced. "And that was my first memory of baseball."
ย
Those early days started Baird on a path that has led him to UW. Now that he's here, he isn't looking back. He knows that with UW's facilities, coaching staff and teammates, he has a lot of tools available that will help mold him into the best player he can be. He knows he just has to follow the right path.
ย
"They give you all the opportunities to succeed and its whether you take it or not," Baird said of the opportunity ahead of him. "You take it upon yourself, whether you want it to happen or not. I'm ready to take my game to the next level."
ย
ย
ย ย
ย
ย
For Husky freshman Ben Baird, the road to the University of Washington could have been a tricky one to navigate. His path to Seattle could have taken several different routes and could have been derailed by roadblocks, but ultimately the Agoura Hills, Calif. native followed his heart and ended up at Montlake.
ย
Like most top high school baseball prospects, Baird knew that chances are he would face a tough decision this past June โ pursue a professional career or head to college. Baird ultimately was selected in the 20th round โ 602nd overall โ by the Cleveland Indians of the Major League Baseball Draft, but decided attending college was the best option for himself.
ย
"I went into the draft with the mindset that I always wanted to go to college, so unless the opportunity was life changing and something that I thought couldn't be done again, I knew I wanted to come to Washington," Baird said.
ย
"And fortunately that's what ended up happening. I couldn't be happier to be here."
ย
Coach Lindsay Meggs and his staff couldn't be happier either. The group of newcomers assembled by Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Jason Kelly and Assistant Coach Donegal Fergus is the first class entirely recruited by the current staff. ย They have been anticipating the arrival of this group โ ranked No. 9 by Perfect Game -- for three years, and Baird is a big reason the anticipation was so high.
ย
Baird was the highest drafted of the Huskies' talented class and a top-100 overall prospect after a stellar high school career at Agoura HS in Southern California. He played in one of the most competitive leagues in California and also excelled on the national scene, playing in the 2015 Perfect Game National Showcase, the Area Code Games representing the Milwaukee Brewers and earning Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors at the 2015 National Classic.
ย
"I played in a good league," said Baird. "We faced a lot of guys going to Division I schools and a lot of Pac-12 guys that I will play against come spring time."
ย
Playing and succeeding on the national stage also did a lot for helping Baird's confidence. "When you compete against those guys and have success, you know that when you are thrown into that situation again that you've done it before and that you can go out there and do it again and be successful."
ย
For Baird now, his first fall camp is about getting acclimated to the college level, improving every day and enjoying the process. He is bonding with his teammates and working towards getting better โ something that he is already seeing pay off.
ย
"I've learned so much already in a month and a half โ more than I have learned through my whole baseball career," Baird said. "I'm excited to see where it takes me."
ย
Baird already had a pretty solid foundation of skills and smarts. He comes from an athletic background. His father โ Dave Baird โ was a standout wide receiver at Lafayette College and had a stint in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. His grandfather was also a Division I track star at Lafayette. It was the lessons he was taught by his father and his earliest memories of playing baseball at his grandparent's house that helped mold the youngest Baird into the player he is today.
ย
"I think more than anything what my dad has taught to me is how much hard work really pays off and what it takes to be able to play at this level," said Ben. "It's nice to have someone to look up to and someone guiding you. He said that college is where he first learned how to work hard so he said he wanted to teach me how to develop that skill earlier in life than he did."
ย
Baird's earliest memories of playing baseball have roots back to playing with his dad at his grandparent's house. With his grandparent's house just down the street from where he grew up, it was easy for Baird to get plenty of practice in.
ย
"I would always go into their backyard with a plastic bat and a whiffle ball and have my dad throw it to me or underhand it to me until one day I finally hit it over the fence in their backyard," he reminisced. "And that was my first memory of baseball."
ย
Those early days started Baird on a path that has led him to UW. Now that he's here, he isn't looking back. He knows that with UW's facilities, coaching staff and teammates, he has a lot of tools available that will help mold him into the best player he can be. He knows he just has to follow the right path.
ย
"They give you all the opportunities to succeed and its whether you take it or not," Baird said of the opportunity ahead of him. "You take it upon yourself, whether you want it to happen or not. I'm ready to take my game to the next level."
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