Dickerson enjoys time off after long baseball season
Published 6:00 am Sunday, December 23, 2012
Here lately, Corey Dickerson is just enjoying the time off.
He knows when the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Day, its not just the beginning of the a new year but it’s the first day he’ll pick up a bat after spending the last 10-months swinging for the fences.
Dickerson, a Brookhaven Academy product, finished up the Arizona Fall League season much like he began his California League campaign back in April, by hitting everything he saw.
After opening the regular season with hits in 14 consecutive games, the Rockies outfield prospect collected a Arizona Fall League best 13-game hitting streak that drew rave reviews from several scouts across Major League Baseball.
The reviews went so good, the MLB has invited Dickerson to its Rookie Seminar for projected first-year Major League Baseball players. The event will be held Jan 10-14, in Washington D.C.
“It’s a thing where only top prospects from each organization are invited to,” said Dickerson. “I’m looking forward to going up there, but I’m going to keep training because it’s a year-round game.”
Last week Dickerson enjoyed the fruits of his success by being awarded endorsement deals from Marucci and Rawlings. He toured the Marucci Batting plant in Baton Rouge, La. and saw first hand how they make, build, and customize the bats he’ll swing next year.
Using a 34-inch, 32-ounce bat, Dickerson knows as a hitter his craft is to make sure the bats he uses are top of the line. Some are top heavy and some shatter on the seams of a 90-mph fastball. Dickerson met with Marucci’s director Kyle Orso on putting together a custom bat just for him, that is the best fit for both.
“They have some of the best bats on the market,” said Dickerson. “I’ve used a lot of bats but Marucci’s are the best.”
Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, and David Ortiz are just a few of the big league bashers that use Marucci. Several other Major League stars do as well.
Dickerson knows it’s all about production, and here lately he’s produced on every level he’s been at. His 67 home runs in 2 and 1/2 years of service in four different levels is staggering. He led all of Single-A in home runs last year with 32. He’s hit several 400-plus feet during the span.
While at the Arizona Fall League, Dickerson revealed another asset of his game by showcasing his speed on the base paths. He hit five triples in the league, which impressed Rockies brass.
He played for the Salt River Rafters, a team in Scottsdale, Ariz. His club clinched the East Division title before falling to the Peoria Javelinas 4-3 in the championship game on MLB Network.
“In Arizona I was feeling pretty good at the plate,” said the soft-spoken Dickerson. “I was just trying to stay aggressive. Out there, you don’t play every day. You just have to be ready at all times.”
Dickerson’s performance at the plate isn’t surprising to the Rockies. He was selected by the franchise in 2009 in the 29th round, and in the eighth round of the 2010 Draft. His two years at Meridian Community College in Mississippi paid off as he earned All-American honors.
After banner seasons in Rockies low level farm clubs in Casper, Wy. and Asheville, NC., he took full advantage of the Cal League’s hitter-friendly ballparks earlier this year, hitting safely in 32 of his first 33 games and posting a .338 average through 60 games.
That earned him a midseason All-Star nod and a promotion to Double-A Tulsa, where Dickerson was named to MiLB.com’s Rockies Organization All-Star team and played in the MLB Network’s Rising Stars Game last month.
During the off-season, Dickerson trains in Meridian. He plans to hold his second annual baseball camp, Feb. 2. at Brookhaven Academy. Sign-up will begin next month. The camp will be geared towards kids ages 7-17.
“I’m looking forward to coming home that weekend,” said Dickerson. “Its always good to give back and teach kids what I’ve learned through playing and improving.”
Dickerson knows right now his focus is on one thing and one thing only: Making the Rockies MLB roster this spring. That’s something he’s wanted since he was a kid.