My name is Dustin Pease, and for thirty years I’ve had an unquenchable thirst for the game of baseball. After retiring from professional baseball in 2013 and a successful six-year pro career that led me as high as AA with the San Diego Padres, I continued to give private lessons between the Baltimore and Frederick areas. While doing this, I accepted the position at my alma mater Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD, as the assistant pitching coach for the 2014–2015 season, respectively, with my former college coach Scott Thomson.
During my time at the Mount, I realized my calling was working one-on-one with players. I have a passion for teaching the game and therefore made the decision to pursue my growing number of players who sought private pitching and hitting instruction. At the time, my wife Jessica had just become pregnant with our first child Isabella, so my family had a lot to digest at once. I was giving lessons at local baseball fields, parks, and high schools and would rent a tunnel at different batting cages between Frederick and Baltimore during the colder months. After setting down roots in Frederick with my family, the time eventually came when I could no longer travel down the I-70 corridor with my ever-growing number of clients in the Frederick area. Before long, I was completely—and humbly—overwhelmed with players from all around the state and surrounding states who wanted instruction and were willing to meet me in Frederick. There was no question—it was time I found my own permanent space.
I was fortunate enough—with some luck and the help from the father of one of my players—to get into a barebones warehouse of my own. It had no insulation, no heat source, no bathroom, an uneven foundation halfway down the floor plan, and barely-workable sliding doors—it was my new headache and heaven at the same time! Through these tough years in such a rough space, the incredible support of my students and their families meant so much to me and, ultimately, inspired me to want to do and give more to the baseball community. I did my best to make upgrades to the facility, including in-house expansions, and I invested as much as I could afford into making it more comfortable and functional for our players and families. I wish more of our current families could have witnessed those growth years that led us to where we are today.
Within the four-year span at our Kings Court location, we added co-founder Ivor Hodgson, a former collegiate and professional teammate, and catching coordinator Brady Policelli. Soon after, life came full circle, and I brought on former Division 1 coach Scott Thomson. In August of 2020, I officially rebranded the business to Pease Baseball Professionals to appropriately reflect our growing staff of former professional baseball players. Our web services also became more efficient over this period, allowing us to continue growing our community. It wasn’t long before our instructors all had full books of players. It was time for more room—and I had already started pondering a fresh model
Having grown up at a unique facility where players could come and go as they please, I started to dwell on the possibility of replicating this model. As instructors, we constantly encourage individual practice and empower our players to do more on their own. Serious players must be willing to put in the work on their own time; there is no way around it in terms of development. The facility in which I grew up, The BATT Club (Baseball All the Time), I felt awe-inspired to bring back to life!
My membership at The BATT Club had a massively-profound impact on my life, drive, perseverance, and development in this great game. One of the coolest features was the freedom of training. It gave players the opportunity to take ownership over their training and their careers, fostering accountability while pressing the development of time management. Everything was designed to give players a flexible place to develop on their own! The culture of like-minded players, professional coaches and instructors, and individuals who lived and breathed the game was tangible, and it will forever live in my heart.
Pease Baseball Professionals, as it stands today at our Yukon Court location, opened May 1, 2022, to our initial group of thirty annual contract members. I capped it at thirty for an entire year to observe the new model and experiment with usage of our space. Twelve months later, with incredible feedback and pace-making player development, it was time to grow the member community and really begin to drive the culture. Here we stand today with a strong community of members and a staff that has doubled, again. We’ve expanded even further, creating an outdoor practice complex that features a full 90-foot infield, three hitting cages, and three full-length bullpen mounds. More and more of our players receive collegiate scholarship offers each year, with some finally breaking into professional baseball. In 2024, we graduated sixteen members who were high school seniors; fourteen have gone on to play at the collegiate level. It’s truly incredible to watch the stories of these players unfold right before our eyes, and we are so excited to be a part of their journeys.
I don’t know how far our journey will go at Pease Baseball in terms of growth, but I do know I am completely invested in giving our baseball community everything I possibly can to continue making positive impacts on development and life. We are fortunate to be such a prevalent part of the baseball culture here in Frederick, MD. This area of the state has become a powerhouse and hotbed of talent that will continue to grow and thrive for all the years to come!