T.C. Williams alum breaks into minor league baseball | Alexandria Times | Alexandria https://www.lightningprosport.com/lightning-jerseys/mikhail-sergach..., VA
T.C. Williams and Alexandria Little League alum Tyler Ratliff has made a big impression in his first few months in the minor leagues (Courtesy Photo) By Denise Dunbar |ddunbar@alextimesLike thousands of Alexandria athletes before him, Tyler Ratliff played Little League baseball, while dreaming of someday making the pros.Unlike most players, though, Ratliff's aspiration was realized in June when the Texas Rangers drafted him in the 17th round of the 2017 MLB draft.In between dream anddraft there were years of hard work."He just had a passion for it," said his dad, Eric Ratliff."He's been doing it since he could walk. He started with t-ball, then coach pitch, then to regular Little League baseball.That was his thing. He was all about baseball."Tyler Ratliff, who is now 21, said professional baseball was "definitely one of my goals when I was really little, when I first started playing – when I was like five or six."Eric Ratliff said Tyler took after his wife Connie's side of the family with his overall athleticism.But it was Tyler whoworked to refine that innate ability into baseball skills."He played baseball in the spring, then did the summer season," Eric Ratliff said."Then he played again in the fall and worked out all winter."Alexandria rootsTyler Ratliff while in the Alexandria Little League (Courtesy Photo)Along the way, Tyler attended Alexandria City PublicSchools. He went to Samuel Tucker Elementary School, Francis C. Hammond Middle School and T.C. Williams High School. While an 8th grader at Hammond, Tyler played for the T.C. junior varsity baseball team and then made the varsity squad as a freshman.Tyler teamed up with T.C.pitcher Alec Grosser, who was one year ahead of him, to lead the Titans to several successful seasons."He and Alec worked out together and played together," Eric Ratliff said. "The two of them ended up getting drafted.Previous to them there was about a 30-year stretch since any one [from T.C. Williams] was drafted."At T.C. Williams, TylerRatliff hit .350 as a sophomore, .401 as a junior and .425 his senior year, when he won all-region and all-district honors.Along the way he maintained a grade point average of 3.95 and made the honor roll all four years.Constantly improvingRob Riley, Ratliff's hitting instructor for the past six years at R D Baseball, an academy that helps develop top players in the D.C. metro area, said he was astounded that Ratliff wasn't recruited out of high school."We saw Tyler's talent early on. We always saw the skill set and we knew the type of kid he was and the type of competitor he was," Riley said.Riley said he and Dan Olds, co-owner of R D Baseball, began working with Tyler in 2012, the summer after his sophomore year in high school."We've watched Tyler grow up over the last six years," Riley said. "It's been fantastic to get to know him and Eric and Connie and their whole family… We trained him as a pitcher and a hitter and on overall athleticism and explosiveness."Riley said he continuedworking with Ratliff after he left to play baseball at Marshall University, where hespent three years before being drafted."I talk to Tyler at least weekly. We talk about his week and how he's doing. We want to help him get to the big leagues," Riley said.Wowing the scoutsEach winter, R D Baseball hosts a scout day whena handful of their top players work out in front of professional scouts. Riley said thatday in January was a good one for Tyler Kevin Hancock Jersey."We give our future draft picks an early look by scouts," Riley said. "The scouts came in and Tyler put on a show with the bat. That got him on the map with a lot of [scouts] and they tracked him all spring… and the Texas Rangers fortunately gave him an opportunity."Ratliff said he didn't know what to expect when draft day arrived."Honestly, you never know [in what round] you're going to get drafted," he said. "People say you're going to get drafted here, you're going to get drafted there. People say a hundred different scenarios."In the weeks between finishing his junior year baseballseason at Marshall in May and the MLB draft in June