Dennis Clark
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
So far, it’s been a whirlwind two weeks for Marshall, Ill., native and Rose-Hulman graduate Derek Eitel — and he’s loving every minute of it.
Since being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 17th round (511th pick overall) of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft on June 8, he’s been quickly immersed into the lifestyle of a professional baseball player.
Presently, he’s in his first days as a starting pitcher on the roster of the Missoula Osprey, a rookie-league, short-season team in the Pioneer League. Their season runs from June 21 to Sept. 9.
Yes, that is all the way out in Montana.
“I’ve never been out West, so that is definitely a new experience too,” Eitel laughed.
Just days after Eitel inked his pro contract, he spent a week at the D-backs training complex in Tucson, Ariz. “I flew out there a week ago this past Friday,” he said. “I’ve been at their extended spring training camp, along with some of their second- and third-year players.”
The first day in Tucson was devoted to taking physicals, then practices ran every day from about 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. “including lunch mixed in there somewhere.” He said the work was easier for him, being a pitcher. “I did my throwing, did my running and then I would go out and shag fly balls.”
During his time at the D-backs facility, Eitel saw his baseball cards as a youngster coming to life, working with such past major league players as former Cy Young Award winning pitcher Doug Drabek, Mike Bell (son of Buddy Bell, grandson of Gus Bell) and Gil Heredia, his new pitching coach at Missoula.
“One-third of the players here were from Latin America,” Eitel observed. “That was different experience, but they were really nice. Some interesting personalities.” He felt his time in T cson “was a good learning experience, but it was more laid back than I thought it would be.”
Last Thursday, Eitel made the flight from Tucson to his new summer home in Missoula.
At one point, Eitel was the highest drafted player on the Missoula roster, but just in the past few days he said they added second-and third-round draftees, both coming out of high school. “I’m expecting to be in a starting role, my first start coming somewhere in the first five days of the season.”
Being a bit older, with four years of college under his belt, Eitel feels that should give him an advantage over the younger players in the organization.
“Being older should give me a leg up, mentally and emotionally,” he said. “I’ve learned how to handle failure and success. Baseball can be a grind, has it’s ups and downs. You have to be mentally tough for all the peaks and valleys.”
Eitel has drawn media interest in Tucson and Missoula. In Tucson, he’s already been interviewed for a future article in the Diamondback’s team magazine. When he hit Missoula, he was a focal point — along with a large action shot of him pitching at Rose-Hulman — smack dab in the heart of the team’s website.
“I’m flattered to be put on the cover [of the website] to begin with,” Eitel admitted.
But being the consummate team player in high school and college, Eitel quickly moved the spotlight off himself, saying, “My goal is to develop as a player, but I also want to win too. I’m a good competitor and try to lead by example. The goal here is to win a championship.”
The team had a media day, dinner with the fans and a public practice on Saturday. “Kind of like what the [Terre Haute] Rex did [before their season]”, he noted.
Eitel has already learned a lot about the Missoula franchise in just a few short days, espousing, “They are the longest-tenured team with the Diamondbacks, been with them since they came into the National League. The ballpark is just three years old, and it was not funded by the community. Private organizations put up the money.
“Baseball is a big deal in Missoula, there’s no pro franchises up here,” he added. “The people love baseball up here, really latch on to the Osprey.”
While the pressure to perform is paramount in baseball, the management of the Osprey also told the players upon arrival to enjoy the experience too.
“They told us to be relaxed and have some fun,” Eitel mentioned. “But they did stress it’s a job now too, and to take it seriously. They don’t have a 1,000 rules, they treat us as adults.”
While being out in Montana is taking Eitel far from his Marshall, Ill., home — 1,705.58 miles to be exact — he will enjoy a semblance of homestyle living. He’ll be residing in the home of the parents of a former football teammate and fraternity brother, Riley Lubbers.
“[Riley’s] got a job in Bozeman [Montana], about three hours away. But his parents live only 15 or 20 minutes from the stadium, so his mom and dad are putting me up for the summer,” Eitel stated.
Asked if being the first Rose-Hulman player to be drafted in a professional sport has sunk in yet, he said, “Oh yeah. I expected to be drafted. But toughest part was not knowing which organization would be drafting me and where I’d end up playing this summer.”
Now he knows. So it’s time to ‘Play Ball’!
