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TImpanogos pitcher Billy Bird throws to first base during a 5A baseball state tournament game against Orem at BYU's Miller Park on Monday, May 22, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

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Timpanogos coach Kim Nelson (in blue) holds a mound conference with pitcher Billy Bird during a 5A baseball state tournament game against Orem on Monday, May 22, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

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Timpanogos lefty Billy Bird delivers a pitch during a 5A baseball state tournament game against Orem at BYU's Miller Park on Monday, May 22, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

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Jordan's Boston Williams (left) dives back to first base as Billy Bird of Timpanogos takes the throw during a Region 8 baseball game on Friday, April 14, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

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Timpanogos pitcher Billy Bird looks back a runner to first base during a 5A baseball state playoff game against Orem on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

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Billy Bird of Timpanogos takes off to first base after making contact in a 5A baseball state playoff game against Orem on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

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Timpanogos' Billy Bird (3) swings at a pitch against Orem in a Region 8 baseball game on Tuesday, May 3, 2022.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

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Billy Bird of Timpanogos drives a ball to center field in a Region 8 baseball game against Jordan on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald)

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Back in the 1970s and ’80s, flamboyant major league baseball manager Billy Martin led the Oakland A’s and New York Yankees with a style the media dubbed, “Billy Ball.” It’s also the title of Martin’s biography.

Timpanogos displayed its own brand of “Billy Ball” during the 2023 season. It wasn’t flamboyant but it was steady, overpowering and impressive: Senior lefty pitcher/first baseman Billy Bird’s performance was a crucial part of the Timberwolves run to the 5A state title.

It has also earned Bird the Daily Herald’s 2023 Valley Player of the Year.

Bird has been a member of the Timpanogos varsity squad since his freshman season in 2020, when his older brother Jackson was his catcher. As a senior, Billy Bird turned in a virtuoso performance. He was 10-0 on the mound with a miniscule 1.19 ERA, striking out 71 and holding opponents to a .202 batting average. Three of his wins came during the Timberwolves nine-game state tournament run and he held a no-hitter in the semifinals against Salem Hills heading into the seventh inning. He finished with a two-hitter, striking out eight and walking three in shutting out one of the best hitting teams in 5A.

Bird started slowly at the plate but raised his batting average over 100 points during the last half of the season. He hit .343 with 36 RBI (which led the team). He also scored 35 runs, totaled 38 hits and finished with eight doubles, two triples and three home runs.

“Pretty much for the first time in his career, Billy was healthy,” Timpanogos coach Kim Nelson said. “He struggled early at the plate but he had a great state tournament. I really like the new state tournament format. He got to throw three times and even though we lost three games during the tournament, we still won the whole thing. I love it.”

Bird said he grew up playing baseball since the age of four and focused on that sport from the start, though he enjoys skiing during the winter.

“There are two things I love about baseball,” Bird said. “One, it’s different every times and that’s what makes it fun. Two, my teammates and the people around me in baseball.”

Bird added that he and the Timberwolves benefited from a new pitching coach in Turner Knight.

“I kind of pitch backwards,” Bird said. “I’m confident in all my pitches but I rely on my two-seam fastball over the four-seam. That made a difference as I learned to build off of that. I think it caught guys off balance.”

Timpanogos claimed the unofficial 5A state championship during the pandemic in 2020 by winning the Last Chance Tournament. It was eliminated in the Super Regionals in 2021 and during bracket play in 2022 to set up a run in 2023.

“I really like the state tournament format because honestly, I know no team was going to be able to beat us twice,” Bird said.

The No. 2 seed Timberwolves split the first two games with No. 18 Uintah in the Super Regionals, then won 14-0 in Game 3 when they scored all 14 runs in one inning. Timpanogos also lost a 6-4 decision to Salem Hills at BYU’s Miller Park during bracket play, but Bird’s two-hitter the next day avenged that defeat and sent his team into the three-game championships series against Region 8 foe Lehi.

The Timberwolves won 5-2 in Game 1 but the Pioneers came back to win 8-7 in Game 2. In Game 3, Bird had a pair of hits and drove in a run in an 8-1 victory to clinch the championship.

“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Bird said. “It’s what you dream of. It’s crazy because it still doesn’t feel real. We worked really hard so it was nice to see that hard work pay off. We had such great team chemistry and everyone on the team was super close. Our team motto was ‘Brothers,’ and I honestly feel that was true. We were brothers for each other.”

Bird will play for the Utah Marshalls this summer. The Marshalls are a developmental league for graduating high school seniors and college players. In the fall, Bird will enroll at the University of Utah and play baseball for the Utes in the spring.

“I really love Coach (Gary) Henderson,” Bird said. “He’s an amazing guy. He reminds me of Coach Nelson and that’s one of the reasons why I decided to go there.”

Bird becomes the sixth player from Timpanogos to win the Daily Herald Valley Player of the Year award, joining Mac Nelson (2002, 2004), Tyson Ford (2005), Brett Lopez (2007), Rhett Nelson (2008) and Tyler Cornish (2017).

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