Down On The Farm with Bryant Packard
I was able to meet up with and interview Bryant Packard, drafted in the 5th Round by the Detroit Tigers in this past June’s MLB Draft, out of East Carolina. ECU (47-18, 20-4) finished as the 12th ranked college baseball team this season and made it to the Super Regionals in June.Bryant first started garnering major attention in 2018 when he hit .406/.462/.671 which led the American Athletic Conference in all three slash categories (AVG/OBP/SLG) while winning Conference Player of the Year Honors. He also had a 32 game hit streak during his 2018 season and helped to break many conference and school records, and performed well last summer in the Cape Cod League. This spring, the only thing that slowed Bryant Packard down were injuries as he missed time with back issues and wrist issues, but he was still able to hit .358/.444/.520. Since signing with the Detroit Tigers he has been promoted from the New-York Penn League to the Midwest League and has shown an ability to hit with wood hitting .326 through 25 games as a pro
Bryant first started garnering major attention in 2018 when he hit .406/.462/.671 – good for the American Athletic Conference Triple Crown – on his way to taking home Conference Player of the Year honors. He also had a 32 game hit streak during his 2018 season, breaking many conference and school records, before showing well in the Cape Cod League that summer.
This spring, the only thing that slowed Bryant Packard down was injury, as he missed time with back issues and wrist issues, but was still able to hit .358/.444/.520. Since signing with the Detroit Tigers, he has been promoted from the New-York Penn League to the Midwest League and has shown an ability to hit with wood hitting – .296/.392/.422 through 39 games as a pro.
James Weisser: Who is your favorite player to watch?
Bryant Packard: I would say J.D. Martinez. I love watching J.D. and the Red Sox as they’ve had success.
JW: Is there anybody you try to model your game after or who do you think you might play like?
BP: Derek Dietrich. I’m obviously not as flashy as he is but he has a great swing from the left side so I try to model that everyday.
JW: What’s your favorite thing about the game of baseball?
BP: Being a part of a team that’s always been a favorite thing of mine regardless of what sport it is I just enjoy the team atmosphere.
JW: How are you using the game of baseball to help others?
BP: I try to be a good role model for kids, being smart on social media, always taking time to talk with them and tell them what you’ve been through, always listen to older people talk because that’s wisdom. I always try to be a good person and be a good role model.
JW: What got you interested in the game of baseball?
BP: My dad and my mom. My mom would roll the ball to me when I was too young to walk and then later graduated on to working with my dad, he would teach me how to throw and other nuances of the game. I just fell in love with it as I continued to get older and play more, there would be some lulls at times but the game of baseball is great.
JW: What inspires you to do your best?
BP: Probably just to make my mom and dad proud. They have been such great supporters, they care about me and have invested in me a lot so I would love to make them proud.
JW: What’s one of the things about your game that you take pride in?
BP: Having integrity, I take pride in doing things the right way and not cheating. I take pride in playing the game the right way.
JW: What’s your favorite movie?
BP: Tommy Boy. It’s a classic Chris Farley movie and it’s one of my dad’s favorites so it rubbed off on me.
JW: What’s your favorite food?
BP: Lasagna. I love Italian food, I’m a big Italian food guy.
JW: What’s your favorite kind of music?
BP: I listen to all kinds of music except for country and classical music. I would probably say rock, Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Beatles, I also like Linkin Park. I also like Hip Hop.
JW: What do you like to do outside of Baseball?
BP: I like following college baseball, I’m a stats guru, I love looking at stats and stuff. I enjoy following the NBA, I also like swimming and playing video games. I like Apex Legends, MLB the Show and other sports games.
JW: If you could be any superhero or have any superpower what would it be?
BP: Definitely to fly, I’ve always been kind of jealous of birds. I think flying would be really cool so I would probably be superman. I would never have to pay for uber.
