Prep Baseball Report

Chance To Become A Buckeye Is No-Brainer For Baird


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Chance To Become A Buckeye Is No-Brainer For Baird

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Tim Baird

Class of 2020 / RHP

Player Information

  • Graduating Class: 2020
  • Primary Position: RHP
    Secondary Position: OF
  • High School: North Royalton
    State: OH
  • Summer Team: Force Ohio Under Armour 17U
  • Height: 6-1
    Weight: 185lbs
  • Bat/Throw: R/R

Statistics

Pitching
90
Max FB
(07/25/19)
87 - 90
FB
(07/25/19)
76 - 77
CB
(07/18/19)
79 - 82
CH
(02/09/20)
73 - 77
SL
(02/03/19)
Pitching
Max FB
89
FB
87 - 89
CH
79 - 82
SL
74 - 77
Pitching
Max FB
90
FB
87 - 90
CB
70 - 73
Pitching
Max FB
89
FB
85 - 89
CH
73 - 76
SL
73 - 77
Pitching
Max FB
87
FB
84 - 87
CH
72 - 76
SL
68 - 70
Position
7.48
60-yard
80
OF Velo
85
Exit Velo

Chance To Become A Buckeye Is No-Brainer For Baird

NORTH ROYALTON - The timing could not have been more perfect.

A change in the coaching staff at Akron brought on a decommitment from Tim Baird just prior to the Major League Baseball Draft. That is when roster spots open up at schools like Ohio State and the recent graduate from North Royalton was the beneficiary.

“It was the perfect timing for me with some of them being drafted,” Baird related.

It all came about after Jordan Banfield left his position as an assistant with Akron to become  head coach at Oakland.

“I didn’t have a great relationship with the head coach and when he took (Dan) McKinney with him that was the deal breaker,” Baird added in reference to the Akron pitching coach joining Banfield at Oakland.

“The day I got released I reached out to Ohio State and they talked to my pitching coach Mike Grady. Up until the day I decommitted, I hadn’t talked with Ohio State. I reached out to a couple schools, but Ohio State jumped on me pretty quick. It was a no-brainer for me. It’s always been my dream school. I’ve been an Ohio State fan since I was born and my family’s all Ohio State fans.”

Admittedly, there was hardly time to stress out between leaving one school and deciding on another.

“I wasn’t too nervous, I knew I’d find a home,” the fifth-rated uncommitted Ohio 2020 said about his feelings prior to the decision to become a Buckeye. “I’ve really improved as a player over the quarantine. I really took advantage of it and felt I couldn’t be denied.”

It was a year-and-a-half ago that the 60th-ranked 2020 in the state was nowhere to be found on the OSU radar.

“In the winter of 2018 I was throwing 74-76,” Baird reflected. “I didn’t know how my body worked. I was still growing and wasn’t that much into pitching. I was still hitting.

“But I got up to 80-82 that summer. The pitchability was there, but everyone said I needed to gain velo. So I dedicated myself to putting on miles per hour. I owe a lot to my pitching coach Mike Grady. I got up to 89 that winter and this offseason I worked hard and was up to 91-92 before spring. Over the quarantine I was 84, sitting in the 90-93 range.

“He’s really guided me in a good direction on how to train,” Baird added about Grady. “We really focused on mechanics. He’s given me lots of tools at his facility to succeed and get better.”

The improvement made by 6-2 190-pound right-hander.did not go unnoticed by Ohio State.

“They really like my projectability,” noted Baird, who in March of 2019 was listed among players on the rise across the country from the 2020 class by PBR National Supervisor Nathan Rode. “My fastball is already there. With the pitching data they have now, they like the metrics of my fastball. They said you can’t teach those metrics. They said they’re good at developing offspeed.

“They also said I have the intangibles,” Barid added. “I like to push others. I like to be around guys that want to get better.”

The drive to improve was there for Baird once COVID-19 brought an end to the 2020 high school season.

“I’m always working out, but with the spring season coming up I wasn’t working on my velo,” Baird explained. “But with the quarantine I figured I might as well hit the gas and see what velo I can put on. I used the opportunity to get better.

“I did a lot of research and learned about the anatomy of the body and the details of the pitching motion. I put on 15 pounds of muscle. I’m actually grateful for the quarantine. It gave me a great opportunity for the future.”

It brings a sense of fulfillment going to Ohio State, where Baird plans to major in business data analytics.

“This is awesome, it’s a dream come true,” noted Baird, who is pitching for the Astro Falcons out of Youngstown the early portion of summer. “I feel I worked hard enough for this to happen and I’m really excited to get to the fall and play for the greatest school in Ohio.”


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(2/9/20)

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