Neal: History of Black Aces is personal for Simeon Woods Richardson

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Simeon Woods Richardson was born in 2000 in Sugar Land, Texas. It was nearly 20 years after Astros great James Rodney Richard’s career was halted by a stroke at age 30.

But Woods Richardson knows about J.R., the strikeout ace who tormented hitters for 10 seasons.

“He could hold seven baseballs in his hand,” Woods Richardson said.

Later during the conversation, Woods Richardson brought up Satchel Paige, whose last game was 1965. And Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, an eight-time All-Star who dominated in the 1970s.

“I would go back and just watch old videos. I would sit up on the computer and just watch old videos. My mom would be like, ‘What are you doing?’” he said. “I would say, ‘I’m watching old baseball.’ It would be Bob Gibson. It would be Satchel Paige. It would be the mysteries, the stories, the journals. That’s what I would pay attention to.”

Woods Richardson spoke as he stood in front of his clubhouse stall at Hammond Stadium following a workout on Tuesday. At 24, his major league career is just getting out of the blocks. But he showed some of his potential last season, going 5-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 28 starts, pitching effectively until he tired late in the season and was shut down.

He’s looking to build on 2024. How far he takes his career is up to him. He’s inspired by Richard, Gibson and other Black pitchers who form a small fraternity known as the Black Aces.

Only 15 Black pitchers in Major League Baseball history have won 20 games in a season. Mudcat Grant, who went 21-7 for the Twins in 1965 and was the first Black pitcher in American League history to do so, named the group in a book in 2007.

There were only 13 members at the time, but C.C. Sabathia and David Price have joined since.

On Opening Day last season, African-American players made up only 5.7 percent of major league rosters. That was the lowest since 1955. And only a handful were starting pitchers.

Sabathia recognized Woods Richardson as one of the few Black starters in the league last season. And he’s spoken of how Grant, years earlier, made him understand the enormity of his accomplishment.

Woods Richardson was a quarterback as well as a baseball player until about middle school, when he concentrated on baseball. He made a point of following other Black pitchers as a youth and tried to watch them in person when they came to town to face the Astros.

When it was time to be drafted, some teams looked at Woods Richardson as a third baseman. He was comfortable at third or on the mound, but the Mets selected him in the second round in 2018 as a righthander. The Twins might want to send the Mets a thank you card.

In 2019, Woods Richardson was dealt to the Blue Jays then, in 2021, to the Twins as part of a package for Jose Berrios.

The thought at the time was that the other guy in the deal, infielder-outfielder Austin Martin, was the key piece in the transaction. Martin is fighting to secure a roster spot in camp while Woods-Richardson is not giving away his rotation spot so far. He’s allowed one run over seven innings on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts during spring training games. He gave up three unearned runs Sunday against Baltimore, coming on Edouard Julien’s error.

“He showed composure the other day,” Twins pitching coach Pete Maki said. “He had a long inning. Some things happened that he can’t really control. He threw all of his pitches, was unpredictable and threw them for strikes. Didn’t fall in love with one pitch or one location.”

Woods Richardson made a mechanical adjustment entering last season that added some velocity to all of his pitches, but his fastball average of 93.1 mph still is slightly below major league average. But he’s aware of the importance of unpredictability and making adjustments.

It will be a challenge for him to become the next Black Ace. The requirements need adjusting anyway, because only three pitchers in all of the majors have reached 20 wins since 2020.

What Woods Richardson does have is appreciation. Of history. And for the heroes who stepped on the mound before him.