Tanner Bird of Adams is back on the roster for the SteepleCats this year. Above, he plays shortstop as a senior at Hoosac Valley High in 2012.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The 2015 edition of the North Adams SteepleCats hits the field for the first time on Friday night.

 

The roster includes players who hail from places like Walnut Creek, Calif., Winter Springs, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

It also includes one player whose journey was a bit shorter: Adams native and SteepleCats pitcher Tanner Bird.

 

"I think my experience is a little different from theirs," Bird said of his teammates this week as he prepares for his second season with the 'Cats.

 

"I get to live in the comfort of my own home."

 

But that doesn't keep Bird from bonding with his teammates, he said, and, in fact, he found last summer that his unique situation allowed him to help out the other 'Cats.

 

"As far as hanging out goes, I can give them insight on where to go," Bird said. "We hang out at my family's house sometimes. I bring some of the guys to my aunt and uncle's house or my house.

 

"I like to be home in the summer. It's the best of both worlds. I get to play in a great league and be home."

 

The SteepleCats play in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a summer wood-bat league for collegians that is sanctioned by the NCAA and supported financially by Major League Baseball.

 

The 'Cats open the season on Friday night at Keene, N.H. Starting with Sunday's 4:30 p.m. home opener, North Adams will play 21 home games at Joe Wolfe Field — highlighted as always by the July 4 game that precedes the city's annual fireworks display.

 

The 12-team NECBL has been around since 1993. The SteepleCats joined the league in 2002. In all but two of North Adams' 13 seasons, the team has made the NECBL playoffs, but one of those two seasons was last year when North Adams finished 19-23.

 

Bird and his teammates hope to make sure it is a one-year absence from the post-season, but just as important is that they use the season itself to develop their skills before they go back to their respective college programs — New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce in Bird's case.

 

"I want to get a better changeup," Bird said. "I've been working with [North Adams General Manager Jonah Bayliss] before the season started, and it's really come a long way."

 

Bird took the mound for the SteepleCats 10 times last summer, compiling a 5.19 ERA and eight strikeouts in 8.2 innings of relief work.

 

This spring, as a junior at Franklin Pierce, he saw his role expanded on a team that went 48-4 and bowed out in the NCAA East Regional

 

"I had a pretty good season," Bird said. "I gained a couple of innings. I pitched in a couple of big games. My role was bigger than last year, and next year I'm hoping it will be even bigger.

 

"The [NECBL] will be a good transition."

 

In addition to knowing North County better than his teammates, Bird also has a better familiarity with the NECBL than most — both as a returning player and a longtime fan.

 

"I went to a bunch of SteepleCats games as a kid," the former Hoosac Valley Hurricane said. "Playing here has always been something I wanted to do. I knew the level of competition was good. I knew it was a good league.

 

"I've been blessed with the opportunity to play here two years in a row."