University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
7th Inning Spotlight: Jake Bird
May 11, 2016 | Baseball
7TH INNING SPOTLIGHT
An ordinary day for a UCLA baseball player sounds a little like this: 6:00 am wake up call for weights, class throughout the day, and practice in the afternoon going into the evening. With most of their days committed to baseball it's hard to think they'd have time for anything else in their lives, but rest assured they do.
The Seventh Inning Spotlight aims to shine light on the unique personalities and lifestyles of each UCLA baseball player with Q & A's to get to know each player beyond their athletic abilities. Each week we will be highlighting a new student athlete. So stay tuned to learn about one of your favorite Bruins.
Q & A with Jake Bird
Hometown: Valencia, CA
Age: 20
Year: Sophomore
Major: Business Economics
Position: Pitcher
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully professional baseball somewhere and opening up my own bakery.
Tell me about your hometown.
(Valencia) It's kind of a new area. Behind my house you can hike up to Magic Mountain. There's also a park right by my house with a basketball court. I'm a streetball legend there...I call it “my court”.
What quote do you live by?
That's tough because it changes growing up. In high school I used to put a new quote on a sticky note every week. This year coming back from my injury I have been living by the quote, “Sink or swim,” where I want to go all out and prosper. I push it to where I get better and not fall.
If you didn't play baseball what sport would you play?
Basketball for sure. I can shoot around forever. I like to do it in my spare time; I just shoot around because it helps clear my mind, the same with baseball. With baseball you can only have so many throws until your arm gets tired and basketball you can shoot around forever.
What is one thing that you can't live without?
Baseball. I love throwing the ball around, as lame as it sounds. Growing up you throw in a lot of games whether it be dodgeball, ball tag and playing baseball. Dodgeball is a fun one because I had a good arm and would scare some kids.
If you could enter a TV competition which would it be?
I'd like to go on one of the cooking shows. I would go with cooking something super simple and throw together just a few ingredients, and maybe give a new aspect to the cooking industry. I'm pretty good at dancing, but definitely am not going to win in anything with that.
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Probably that I want to open a bakery when I'm older. It catches people's ears when I say it and some think it's a joke. And I'm a pretty good student too, that surprises some people. But people who know me know I'm good at a lot.
Do you have any pets?
I have two dogs. One is a golden retriever and one a German shepherd. The golden retriever is calm and lazy and the German shepherd is wild. When I come home the German shepherd always jumps on me and the golden retriever will nudge him to keep him from jumping on me.
Besides sports, what are some of your interests?
Going into college I wanted to be a doctor, but because of the time commitment and baseball practice schedule it didn't work out so I changed my major to business economics. As a kid I always I wanted to be a doctor and play professional baseball.
What's one thing everyone should try at least once in their life?
Playing a sport. I'm sure everyone does but that's something that I love to do. Growing up I played all the time and it taught me competitiveness and that competitiveness in sports carried over to school and other things. I think everyone should just play on a sports team once in their life.
What's the biggest risk you've ever taken?
I went cliff jumping once. It probably wasn't as risky as it felt. My buddies, who I was with, had gone before so it wasn't a big deal to them but for me it felt dangerous and a little sketchy.
If you inherited an acre of land what would you do with it?
I would build a pretty big house with an indoor basketball court with a fridge full of vitamin waters. I would also have a mini baseball field or wiffle ball field.
What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?
I like to think I had it figured out as a kid. I always dreamed big when I was a kid...like I want to own a bakery, play professional sports in MLB and NBA, and become a doctor. I think sometimes growing up can get into your head a little bit so I try to revert to what I thought as a little kid. Not knowing how the world works as a little kid is easier.
Previous 7th Inning Spotlights
Luke Persico
Christoph Bono
Eric Filia
Brian Gadsby
Brett Urabe
Moises Ceja
Sean Bouchard
Kort Peterson
Trent Chatterton
Tucker Forbes
