Some athletes are just competitive and trophy-holder. On the contrary, they are heroes in real life.
Gaining fame and a new audience does not take them away from mowing their grandmother’s lawn or getting their sister’s lunch to college. An athlete with a combination of such sportsmanship and humbleness is Bubba Starling.
Since his high school days, he earned the fame of being a sports star. His aspiring gaming ability in football and basketball attracted many sports teams. He has played for minor leagues like AAP and AL leagues.
Unfortunately, the rising baseball player had a bumpy career due to the injuries. However, his dedication and patience have paid off. When he made an outstanding comeback in the 2019 season, he proved his career is yet to offer more.
Table of Contents
Quick Facts-Bubba Starling
| Full Name | Derek Starling |
| Nickname | Bubba |
| Birth Date | August 3, 1992 |
| Birth Place | Gardner, Kansas, United States of America |
| Age | 29 Years Old |
| Religion | Undefined |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | N/A |
| Horoscope | Leo |
| Father’s Name | Jimbo Starling |
| Mother’s Name | Deb Starling |
| Siblings | Sister Jamie Oshel(married) |
| Height | 1.9m,6 feet 3 inches (approx) |
| Weight | 97 kgs |
| Shoe Size | N/A |
| Education | Gardner Edgerton High School (Gardner, KS) |
| Career in Sports | Baseball |
| Currently Works At | Kansas City Royal |
| Position in Sports | Outfielder |
| Net Worth | $1 million (approx) |
| Salary | $568,250 (Total) |
| Affiliations | Nebraska Cornhuskers, Burlington Royals, Lexington Legends, Wilmington blue rocks, Omaha Storm Chasers, Major League Basketball, Kansas City Royal, Scott Boras (Sports agent) |
| Active Since | 2011 |
| Present Status | Active |
| Relationship Status | Dating/Girlfriend- Laura Glenn |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter, Wikipedia |
| Merch | Trading Cards, Signed Jersey |
| Last Update | May, 2022 |
Early life & Parents
Parents
On August 3, Bubba Starling was born to Jimbo Starling and Deb Starling. His parents have named him Derek Starling. He was born in Gardner, Kansas.
Starling’s father also played basketball at a nearby school. His mother, the Deb, works as a secretary at the high school. Also, she has played volleyball at Baker.
Nature during Childhood
His childhood was elementary. Bubba didn’t watch much TV nor played video games. Bubba spent his time helping his mom, fishing at the family lake. He was so intense and strong that he did not want to play with kids of his age.
Bubba Starling’s Sister
Also, He has a sister called Jamie Oshel. Besides, she said people called her Bubba’s sister than her own identity at her high school back then.
Moreover, his parents and sister were always supportive of his sports. They always showed up and cheered for Starling’s performance back in High School.
Education
In 2011, Starling completed his high education at Gardner Edgerton High School in Kansas. He was active in sports rather than academics. The school also got famous due to Bubba.
Vital Body Stats
Talking about Bubba’s body measurements, his height is 6 feet 3 inches and 97 Kgs weight. He is a handsome man. His lean and muscular body is reasonably fit for the game.
Professional Life and Career
High School Sports
Fun fact, Starling was a football, baseball, and basketball star at Gardner-Edgerton. His school baseball coach, Jerald VanRheen, observed Bubba in his school games. He even said Starling would make something big in life.
Also, Bubba has earned No. 6 quarterbacks in 2011 and No. 112 in the nation for high school football recruits. Eventually, he was also touted as the No. 1 ranked baseball recruit in the country.
Starling also led the Trailblazers to the 2009 Kansas 5A State Championship game. He was considered one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects. Not only that, but Starling also became a member of the Kansas High School All-State team in basketball.
Interviews and road to Nebraska Cornhuskers
In fact, many reporters interviewed him. Moreover, they asked him about choosing football or baseball after playing matches in his school. In either way, he would have made the best out of it.
Due to his active, wise, and skillful sportsmanship, he signed a national-letter-of-intent with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He received a scholarship from this team.
Sporting with Nebraska Cornhuskers
The next stop for Bubba was the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Here, Bubba was allowed to play football and baseball. Bubba got a scholarship to play quarterback for the team.
However, the negotiations between Starling and the agent did not get conclusions. Thus he joined Kansas City Royal for his future in baseball.
This incident became the town’s talk, and everyone in Kansas city was excited and proud of Bubba’s decision.
New Career with Kansas City Royal
Getting enrolled
In 2011 MLB-based Kansas City Royals selected Starling with fifth overall selection for the MLB draft. In fact, He was considered to be the most athletic in the draft.
Bubba was offered a contract of three years worth $7.5 million with a signing bonus. He had to play professional baseball over a collegiate athletic career for the University of Nebraska. The amount of contract money was the largest ever paid to a high school player.
With Burlington Royals Team
As expected Bubba, nailed his professional debut with Burlington. He hit for a .275 average while blasting ten homers and accumulating 33 RBIs in 53 games.
Lexington Legends
Next, Bubba played for the Lexington Legends in 2013. .241 batting average with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs in 125 games got into Sterling’s account.
With Wilmington Blue Rocks
Likewise, he also played with the Wilmington Blue Rocks. There he batted .218 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs in 132 games.
The year 2015 got spent as Starling played for both Wilmington and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
With Omaha Storm Chasers
In 2016, Bubba was promoted to the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers. He also invested the year 2017 with the team. The same year, Bubba Starling got minor laser eye treatment in his right eye.
Starling began 2018 with Omaha, but injuries did not make him perform well. Injuries in 2017 and 2018 limited him to a combined 100 games in two seasons.
Comeback
Again, Starling re-signed a minor league deal with the Royals. He joined Omaha in the 2019 season. Furthermore, Bubba was selected to represent the Storm Chasers on the Pacific Coast League squad at the 32nd annual Triple-A All-Star Game in 2019.
In 2019, Triple-A Omaha season, he made an explosive comeback. His battle was .345, which is the best number in his career.
Promotion
Moreover, the Royals promoted Starling from minor to major leagues. He made his major league debut in the games versus the Detroit Tigers. Starling hit his first career MLB home run off of Cleveland. In fact, He hit .215 in 56 games. He also quoted,
I WENT THROUGH HELL AND BACK. AND HERE I AM IN JULY, HEALTHY AND HAVING SOME FUN WITH MY TEAMMATES. THAT’S ALL I CAN DO, PRETTY MUCH.
The Year 2020
Appearance in Royal Quick Hits
Bubba appeared in a video of Royal Quick Hits on Kansas City Royal’s official Youtube Channel. Moreover, he gave his answer to the following questions:
| Favorite TV Show | Ozark |
| Most Used App | |
| Superpower | Flying |
| Favorite Vacation | Somewhere in Carrabean sides |
| Biggest Phobias | Spiders and Snakes |
| Favorite ice cream flavor | Vanilla |
| Favorite Food | Steak |
| Least Favorite Food | Japanese Food |
| First Car | Ford f-150 |
In August 2020, Starling’s returned to baseball activities at the Royals alternate training site in Kansas City, Kansas, as he tested negative for COVID-19.
Awards
For his outstanding performance, Bubba was awarded various awards. Some of them are listed below:
- Starling got Thomas A. Simone Memorial Award (an award that recognizes the best football player in the Kansas City metro area) from his High School in the year 2010
- In the year 2012, Bubba received APP Post-Season All-Star For Burlington Royals in APP League.
- Starling received the MiLB.com Organization All-Star award for Kansas City Royal in AL League in the same year.
- Again in 2012, Bubba received APP Player of the Week(08/06/2012) for Burlington Royals in the APP League.
- In 2014, Bubba received CAR Player of the Week(6/23/2014) for the Burlington Royals in the CAR League.
- Starling got the PCL Mid-Season All-Star award for Omaha Storm Chasers in PCL Leagues in 2019.
Personal life | Pets & Girlfriend
Responsible Son
Like a loving and responsible son, Bubba has supported his family. With the money for his first contract, he paid off the mortgage on his parents’ house.
Moreover, Bubba got cars for everyone in the family. Bubba supported his sister financially. Not to forget, Mr. Starling’s parents’ next house also became mortgage-free.
Pets
Starling loves spending time with pets, especially dogs. He owns two dogs named Tex and Rufus.
Girlfriend
Bubba has been posting a lot of pictures with his girlfriend, Laura Glenn. They have been dating since 2019 (as per Bubba’s Instagram post). They seem to be enjoying the happy moments together during the vacation and after match meetings.
However, Laura avoids being in public appearances, and there is less news about her on the internet. To stay out of the limelight and protect her privacy, her Instagram is also a private account.
Apart from her, back in the days, Bubba was rumored to be dating a girl named Jill. Apparently, the dating rumors started when they used to travel together and often post pictures on their social media accounts.
Indeed, Bubba never announced her as his girlfriend, though.
Net Worth
STARLING’S NET WORTH IS ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND 1 MILLION US DOLLARS.
Social Media Presence
His official Facebook page is not found; however, he gets featured on Kansas City Royals page repeatedly.
He is active on Instagram. He shares her professional shots, BTS moments, pictures with fans, Huntings with family, vacay-moments with girlfriend and cousins.
Bubba is also on Twitter. He mostly tweets about his games.
Also, Wikipedia has dedicated a page for Bubba Starling.
Instagram handle: (@bubbastar10) 22.6k followers
Twitter handle: (@bubba_stan) 29 followers; not a real account, fan page.
Bubba Starling | FAQs
What is the uniform (jersey) number of Bubba Starling?
Bubba Starling features in jersey number 11 for the Kansas City Royals.
What is Bubba Starling’s stats this year?
Since 2021 is just starting, Bubbs Starling’s MLB statistics for 2020 is a batting average of .209, with 5 home runs and 17 run bats.