Victory Park Ohio - Profile Player

Derek Dietrich

21 years old

From: Parma, Ohio

HS - St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio)

College - Georgia Tech (Atlanta Georgia)

Pro - Tampa Bay Rays (2nd round pick)

I realized I had power when I was a Freshman at St. Ignatius

Derek Dietrich is a baseball player that has been successful at every level going back to when he was playing travel ball as a kid with the Brunswick Knights in the CVBA - a travel baseball league in Cleveland Ohio (http://www.cvbabaseball.com/). 

He is now playing professionally with the Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Over the course of his baseball career one thing has remained the same: his left handed approach from the plate. 

"I always swung from the left side going as far back as I can remember", Dietrich said.  "I used to hit with my grandfather all the time at State Road Park in Parma and it helped me out because my swing was always sharp."

His swing was sharp and really started to show power in High School at Cleveland powerhouse St. Ignatius when Derek broke school records in hits (136), runs (108), home runs (18), doubles (42), RBI (125), walks (75) and singles (73).

When talking about his career at St. Ignatius, Dietrich had this to say:  "I always knew I could hit the ball well, but I realized I could hit for power in my Freshman year at Ignatius.  I was the only Freshman that played on the Varsity team and I was driving the ball a lot".

Hitting for power and average, Derek's game was taking off and a lot of it came from the practice he got at State Road Park in Parma from his grandfather.

"I got a lot of advice from my grandfather and he really taught me how to hit.  He was a major league scout for the Pirates and helped me get my swing to where it is today", Derek said.

His swing got him national attention at St. Ignatius and following his senior season at St. Ignatius, he was drafted in the 3rd round of the MLB draft by the Houston Astros.  Electing to go to college at Georgia Tech and forego professional baseball, Dietrich continued his baseball success for the Yellow Jackets.

He was drafted again in 2010 and this time took the job with the Tampa Bay Rays. 

He is currently his second year with the club and is currently hitting .296 with 3 HR for the Bowling Green Hot Rods through 16 games.

Derek Dietrich is a Victory Park Ohio - Profile Player.  We will follow him throughout the season and report on his progress. 

Derek is a big supporter of Victory Park Ohio and will be seen at the park in the off season. 

Mid Month Update - 4.17

Construction at Victory Park Ohio is moving along! 

The Cleveland weather has not been friendly and the Victory Sports Park grounds staff has had several hurdles this month.  Hats off to the grounds crew as they have done a great job with the baseball/softball fields.

Here are some notable updates to this point for the baseball/softball fields:

Fields 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 have received a new infield mix of dirt and conditioner.  They have been crowned and graded to provide a better playing surface and a more suatainable drainage solution. 

Fields 7 & 8 have have been getting the professional treatment with a "big league" infield mix (provided by J&D Turf - http://www.j-dturf.com/). 

Stay tuned for further updates!

2011 Promo Video

2011 Promo Video

The weather is starting to turn!

The sun has made an appearance in Cleveland, Ohio!  With the cold winter that NE Ohio has enjoyed (or lack thereof), construction at Victory Park Ohio has been delayed at times and halted at others..

Now that the weather has taken a turn for the better, we will see some movement with the construction crews!  Our onsite restaurant project will resume and we hope to get it up and running for the 2011 season.

Tournaments and Leagues will begin in April and we will make sure this park is READY. 

Here is a state of the park as of 2.15.2011...

The Victory Park Ohio website is up and running at http://www.victoryparkohio.com/!  We also have Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts that are beginning to pick up steam.  Stay tuned with our social media sites and there will be promotions that could be for you!

As far as tournament programming goes, our tournament lineup has events for the entire season.  Adult Softball has over twenty (20) tournaments and includes two (2) with cash purses up to $10,000!  Youth Travel Baseball has eight (8) tournaments that are highlighted by the Nations Baseball World Series.  Fast Pitch Softball's signature tournament will be the Victory Sports Park's Scholarship Tournament that will be offering a scholarship purse of $3,000!

We also offer leagues for Adult Slow Pitch and Fast Pitch Softball!

The season is right around the corner and we are excited for Victory Park Ohio to open the doors!

Stay tuned with what's next!