An Interview with Tri-City CF Bobby Boyd

I spoke with with Tri-City Manager Ed Romero about Bobby Boyd, and he had this to say, "Bobby's been very good. He's an outfielder with speed, covers a lot of ground. He's a tough out at the plate. He's a perfect lead off guy." He would, however, like to see Boyd bunt more and wants to see him show more aggressiveness on the base paths, "He's got to utilize his speed and when he gets on base, he's got to go. You want to steal bases, you've got to go."

Boyd is a petite outfielder (generously listed as 5'9" on the roster) drafted this year in the eighth round out of West Virginia University. In his first 38 games for Tri-City, he is hitting .329/.396/.371 with six doubles and 11 stolen bases.

Boyd was the first of several players that I interviewed last week in Tri-City. He appears to be a little bit on the quiet side, but that could also be a by-product of sleep deprivation. The day we spoke followed a bus trip that ended around 4:30 a.m.

Bobby Boyd - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Boyd was born and raised in Silver Springs, Maryland, a suburb of Washington D.C., and has lived in the same house his whole life. He attended high school in D.C. When asked about his college experience, he told me, "I chose West Virginia because of the atmosphere, the sports atmosphere. It seems like everywhere around the country, everywhere you go, there's always Mountaineer fans there. When we went out to California last year for baseball, we had more fans there than some of the other teams had there that were from the area, so it was just a really great experience from that aspect."

His team didn't qualify for the regionals, but after WVU joined the Big 12, Boyd starting seeing a lot better competition and according to him, "We actually competed really well. We finished third my sophomore year and I think last year we finished fifth and everyone expected us to finish last so we were kind of the underdogs."

Did he know that the Astros were interested in drafting him? "That's funny because I had a lot of teams calling me up until the draft. The Astros, I filled out a questionnaire for them, but I guess I put the wrong phone number or something. My area scout said he was trying to get a hold of me for a week or two and he didn't have the right phone number. The day before the draft, he called me and said that we'd be in contact so I knew that the Astros were one of the teams who were interested."

I asked him what the biggest surprise or adjustment was in playing professional baseball. He responded, "I would just say playing every day. In college, you play the weekends and one day during the week and the rest of the days, your body's resting and stuff, so my body's still getting used to the travel." Boyd went on to say that he felt he was getting stronger from the travel and playing every day and was enjoying it all so far.

Since I hadn't seen Boyd play yet when I interviewed him, I asked him to characterize himself as a player, "Just a spark plug. I get things started for the team. I'm the lead off hitter. I get on base, get myself in scoring position so the guys after me can hit me in. Play good defense and kind of just show off my speed."

Which pitcher on the Tri-City team would he least like to face in the batter's box? "I would probably say Troy Scribner [since promoted] just because he pitches, he locates, he mixes it up and doesn't try to be too fancy, but gets guys off balance and gets them out."

Who does he enjoy watching play or pitch? "I like fielding behind [Joe] Musgrove and Scribner just because they throw strikes and go right after guys. I know I'm not going to be in the outfield, just standing around."

In response to my query as to what improvements he's trying to make, Boyd told me, "I'm working on getting on base more and swinging at good pitches. In college, I was kind of a free swinger, and here, they're trying to teach me to have a better pitch selection so I can get on base and score runs for the team."

What would he do if he couldn't play baseball? "During the summer, I'd definitely be at the beach all summer. I guess I'd probably try to be an engineer like my parents are engineers."

Who on the team makes him laugh? "Jay Gause. I think he makes everyone on the team laugh. Everyone thinks he's annoying, but he's the funniest guy on the team. It's hilarious to listen to him talk."

I also asked Boyd if he could tell me something about himself that most people didn't know. His answer showed his competitive streak. "I beat up on the guys in ping pong in the clubhouse."

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Thank you for your time, Bobby. I really enjoyed getting to know you just a little bit better. Best of luck as you head toward the playoffs.