Hillsboro Hops Retiring Ben Petrick's Number On Opening Night

HILLSBORO, OR — Ben Petrick is as much of a true baseball star as Hillsboro has ever seen. He played baseball, football, and basketball at Glencoe High School. He went on to star for the Colorado Rockies, and eventually returned to Hillsboro where he was a coach for the Hops over seven seasons.

On opening night this year, the Hops will show their affection for Petrick by retiring his number. On that night, the Hops will also hang a plaque, "Patrick 6" below the press box.

"Ben has always exemplified what it means to be a Hop through and through," Hops President and General Manager KL Wombacher said. "His representation of the Hops brand has been nothing short of incredible.

"We can't think of a better way to honor Ben than by having him be the first member of the Hops to have their jersey retired. No member of the Hops will ever wear number six again."

While Petrick had signed a letter of intent to play baseball and football at Arizona State, he instead signed with the Colorado Rockies who had made him a second round pick in the draft.

He made his debut in the Majors on September 1, 1999. The following year, he played his first full season, ending with a .322 batting average.

Petrick spent a total of six seasons with the rockies and then the Tigers before young-onset Parkinson's disease forced him to retire.

He coached with the Hops over the seven seasons 2013-2019. During that time, the team won three Northwest League championships.

Petrick has written a book about living with a Parkinson's diagnosis and started an organization, Strength Through Weakness," to help people living with the disease.