Former Thousand Oaks star Bird spends summer playing in Alaska

NEW ROLE- Brian Bird, a Thousand Oaks High graduate, pitched for the A l a s k a Goldpanners of the Alaska Baseball League earlier this summer, where he posted a 3.57 ERA in 22.2 innings of work. Bird will play at Lewis-Clark State College this fall. For the baseball traditionalist, one who can appreciate the beauty of a ballgame under the warm summer sun, there may be no better location in the country to watch nine men take the diamond than the 50th state.

Just ask Brian Bird, a Thousand Oaks High graduate who recently completed his first season pitching for the Alaska Goldpanners of the Alaska Baseball League (ABL), considered by many to be the premier summer league for college players west of the Mississippi River.

"When I first got up here, I didn't see dark for about a week," said Bird, who as a high school senior in 2004 was named the Marmonte League's Pitcher of the Year.

"The sun was out pretty much 24 hours a day," he said. "It's a pretty neat place. It's got a lot of nature, a lot of scenery . . . It's a little hard to sleep though, but you get used to it."

With a surplus of daylight and the hustle and bustle of big-city life far beyond the horizon, Bird had ample time to work on his game. And he did just that, tying for the Goldpanners' lead with 11 appearances while posting a 3.57 ERA in 22.2 innings of work.

Although he ended the campaign with an 0-2 record, Bird said getting the chance to compete day-in and day-out against some of the top college players nationwide was an experience that'll only enhance his pitching in the future.

"It's real good competition," Bird said. "So much so that I struggled a little bit at first."

Bird's numbers this season in the ABL-a 100-year-old league that's been home to current major league stars such as Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Michael Young and Bobby Crosby-were solid enough. However, they pale in comparison to the stats he put up this year in his first and only season at Cuesta College.

Working in relief, Bird was 90 with a 1.56 ERA and logged 11 saves for Cuesta, a community college in San Luis Obispo. His 1.06 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) was microscopic and his accuracy pinpoint, as the right-hander walked only 17 batters in 63.3 innings on the bump.

"The numbers said it all. It's an unblemished record," Cuesta head coach Bob Miller said. "He came to pitch every day."

Miller said Bird's success as a reliever rather than a starter can be traced, in part, to a pair of highquality pitches he possesses-a cut fastball and slider.

"When you take those two pitches, obviously both breaking balls, it made him tough to hit for the opposition," Miller said. "But you can't throw them every pitch. So, coming out of the bullpen when your pitch count is down, he can throw more breaking balls."

Bird's breakthrough season at Cuesta not only garnered him recognition as a Southern California All-American, it helped him land a scholarship to LewisClark State College in Idaho, where he'll play for an NAIA program that's been ranked No. 1 in the nation the previous two seasons and won a national championship last year.

"I want to come in and contribute," Bird said. "There are several strong juniors coming in this year and I'm sure we all want to help the team win another national championship."

Before Bird attended Cuesta, before he played in Alaska and before he left his Thousand Oaks home for Lewis-Clark, he was foundering in the bullpen for one season at Moorpark College as a spot reliever.

"I didn't pitch very much," he said. "And I didn't think I'd pitch much the next year. I felt a change needed to be made."

Like any decent pitcher, Bird made the necessary adjustments to become successful. Now it's the batters' turn to try and catch up.