Welcome to the Official Team Site for the Joliet Dirtbags.
The Joliet Dirtbags are a collegiate/amateur baseball program that saw its origins begin in the now defunct Joliet Adult Baseball League out of Joliet Junior College back in the mid 2000's. The program was a collaboration of the Joliet Senators and Joliet Blue Jays that eventually formed the predecessor to the Joliet Dirtbags, the Steel City Aces. The Aces had an impressive debut season in the Great Plains/Midwest Collegiate League finishing 2nd in the league's inaugural season. The boys from the City of Champions showed that they could hang with the best players of the region.
The Dirtbags have always used a principal that is the opposite of what most summer programs think, the best players are from your own backyard as opposed to scouring the country looking for the premier talent. The Dirtbags pride themeselves on the fact that the best ball players in the country are from Joliet and the surrounding towns. Head Coach Kevin Campbell epitomizes this by always emphasizing, "I rather have local kids from D2, D3, JUCO, and NAIA schools that know how to play as team as opposed to having the blue chip prospect from 50 miles away. You give me 25 area kids who want to play as a team, I guarantee that they will win."
The Dirtbags take pride in their name as it always draw a snicker from new fans, but the Dirtbags were assembled to take the mentality of their General Manager Mike Sisti and Head Coach Kevin Campbell, middle of the road collegiate players who would leave their heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears on the baseball field and moreso do whatever it takes to win a baseball game. Team comes first and a win will come by any means necessary. Hence the Dirtbags were born and Campbell and Sisti are proud to say that 99% of the players who have come through this program carry that mentality and carry with them something that is almost impossible to find these days, loyalty. When you are a Dirtbag you are a Dirtbag for life and the Dirtbag family can proudly say that many of their players believe in this same ideal.
If you look at the Records and Awards tabs on the main page you can see what the history of this franchise has produced from multiple professional players, to Regional Championships, World Serires appearances, Top 5 league finishes, etc.
We are always looking for sponsorships, if intrested please call Kevin Campbell 815-603-7736
