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PEORIA — Tre Richardson makes no secret about his love for baseball, but he does keep part of what motivates him under his hat.
The St. Louis Cardinals prospect came up to the Peoria Chiefs last season, and will pick up where he left off with the Chiefs when the high-A Midwest League team opens the 2025 campaign on Friday at Dozer Park.
"There are a few people who really helped me on this path, helped me get to where I am now, and I don't ever forget them," Richardson said. "My father (Robert) was an NCAA player. My mother, Leah, I was around her so much I'm proud to say I was a real mamma's boy growing up. My grandmother, Shirley, and my grandfather, J.R.
"They have all been such a big part of my life. A lot of who I am as a person comes from them."
The inside of his ballcap carries the date of his grandfather's death "1-23-22" as a memorial, and on the underside of the bill of his ballcap is scrawled a Bible verse, "Isaiah 41:10."
"He was such a big influence on me," Richardson said of his grandfather. "He was a pastor, and when I was really young, he would set aside time to read stories to the youngest kids (in the congregation). I would climb up on his lap and join the group and listen to the stories."
Richardson is a man who wears the Cardinals logo on his uniform chest and his deep faith on his sleeve — and under his ballcap — every day.
Richardson, 23, was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Houston. He started playing catch and swinging a bat when he was just 3. By the time he was 5, he was playing in organized games with a YMCA league.
His father, Robert, was a catcher for the University of Oklahoma, and today coaches baseball at Spartans Post Grad Academy in Houston.
Richardson went on to star at Kingwood High School (Texas), where he was teammates with longtime friend Masyn Winn. Winn went on to be drafted by the Cardinals and play for the Chiefs in parts of the 2021 and 2022 seasons before reaching the majors with St. Louis late in the 2023 season.
"We've been friends since I was 10 years old," Richardson said. "After high school, we went our separate ways in the game. But when I was drafted, the first call I got was from him."
Richardson graduated high school a semester early and played two years at Baylor, where he earned Big 12 honorable mention selection in 2021 and 2022. He transferred for the 2023 season to TCU and hit the baseball world with a record-tying performance in the NCAA regional, in which he hit three home runs and piled up 11 RBIs in a win over Arkansas on June 4, 2023.
Thirty-seven days later, he was a professional baseball player.
Richardson was a 15th-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2023, and was signed for a modest bonus of $150,000.
The second baseman — who can also play shortstop — will try to find his way on a Peoria team that includes five of the Cardinals Top 30 prospects heading into the 2025 season.
Day 1 of the draft in 2023 came and went without his name being called. Then Day 2 passed. By Day 3, he wasn't watching anymore.
"I was at home, with my dad, my family," Richardson said. "By then it was just a list of names being put up online. Mine came up, and I ran downstairs to tell my dad, and he said, 'I know already.' He had been watching the list, waiting.
"Since the day I got drafted, it's been like a fever dream. I didn't even have a wooden bat. I showed up at Cardinals camp with my body and a glove. That's all I had."
Richardson began his pro career at low-A Palm Beach in 2023, where he hit .241 with 16 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 26 games. He opened 2024 there and pushed his way up to high-A Peoria at the end of May. With the Chiefs he hit .241 in 61 games, added 14 steals, 26 runs and 31 RBIs.
Now the 5-foot-9, 170-pound right-handed hitting and throwing infielder is opening 2025 where he finished last season.
"The more I realize the adversity side of baseball, the more I love the game," Richardson said. "You go 0-for-4 one day, you have to have a short memory, because you have to go back out there the next day and compete. I like figuring out how to adjust to things.
"I love the challenge of working through it. Everything you do in life is making a choice. No single moment or thing defines who I am."
Richardson deepened his connection to baseball last summer when MLB staged a game between the Cardinals and Giants at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.
MLB dubbed the June event as a "Tribute to the Negro Leagues," but it took on more meaning when the great Willie Mays died at age 93 two days before the event.
Richardson was among a handful of players the Cardinals invited to attend at the historic, 114-year-old stadium where the Birmingham Black Barons clubhouse still stood and where MLB greats like Mays, Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige once played.
"One of the coolest experiences I've ever had in my life," Richardson said. "There was so much history, so much perspective there. I saw guys like Bonds and Griffey Jr., there. I walked into the MLB locker room, saw how those guys get ready to play. Then I saw them bring out all the living Negro League players to give them a tribute.
"I felt elation, frustration, excitement … just an amazing experience."
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Cardinals prospects: Peoria Chiefs second baseman thrives on baseball, faith
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The St. Louis Cardinals prospect came up to the Peoria Chiefs last season, and will pick up where he left off with the Chiefs when the high-A Midwest League team opens the 2025 campaign on Friday at Dozer Park.
"There are a few people who really helped me on this path, helped me get to where I am now, and I don't ever forget them," Richardson said. "My father (Robert) was an NCAA player. My mother, Leah, I was around her so much I'm proud to say I was a real mamma's boy growing up. My grandmother, Shirley, and my grandfather, J.R.
"They have all been such a big part of my life. A lot of who I am as a person comes from them."
You must be registered for see images
The inside of his ballcap carries the date of his grandfather's death "1-23-22" as a memorial, and on the underside of the bill of his ballcap is scrawled a Bible verse, "Isaiah 41:10."
"He was such a big influence on me," Richardson said of his grandfather. "He was a pastor, and when I was really young, he would set aside time to read stories to the youngest kids (in the congregation). I would climb up on his lap and join the group and listen to the stories."
Richardson is a man who wears the Cardinals logo on his uniform chest and his deep faith on his sleeve — and under his ballcap — every day.
A phenom … at age 3
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Richardson, 23, was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Houston. He started playing catch and swinging a bat when he was just 3. By the time he was 5, he was playing in organized games with a YMCA league.
His father, Robert, was a catcher for the University of Oklahoma, and today coaches baseball at Spartans Post Grad Academy in Houston.
Richardson went on to star at Kingwood High School (Texas), where he was teammates with longtime friend Masyn Winn. Winn went on to be drafted by the Cardinals and play for the Chiefs in parts of the 2021 and 2022 seasons before reaching the majors with St. Louis late in the 2023 season.
"We've been friends since I was 10 years old," Richardson said. "After high school, we went our separate ways in the game. But when I was drafted, the first call I got was from him."
Richardson graduated high school a semester early and played two years at Baylor, where he earned Big 12 honorable mention selection in 2021 and 2022. He transferred for the 2023 season to TCU and hit the baseball world with a record-tying performance in the NCAA regional, in which he hit three home runs and piled up 11 RBIs in a win over Arkansas on June 4, 2023.
Thirty-seven days later, he was a professional baseball player.
Draft day, July 11, 2023
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Richardson was a 15th-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2023, and was signed for a modest bonus of $150,000.
The second baseman — who can also play shortstop — will try to find his way on a Peoria team that includes five of the Cardinals Top 30 prospects heading into the 2025 season.
Day 1 of the draft in 2023 came and went without his name being called. Then Day 2 passed. By Day 3, he wasn't watching anymore.
"I was at home, with my dad, my family," Richardson said. "By then it was just a list of names being put up online. Mine came up, and I ran downstairs to tell my dad, and he said, 'I know already.' He had been watching the list, waiting.
"Since the day I got drafted, it's been like a fever dream. I didn't even have a wooden bat. I showed up at Cardinals camp with my body and a glove. That's all I had."
Richardson began his pro career at low-A Palm Beach in 2023, where he hit .241 with 16 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 26 games. He opened 2024 there and pushed his way up to high-A Peoria at the end of May. With the Chiefs he hit .241 in 61 games, added 14 steals, 26 runs and 31 RBIs.
Now the 5-foot-9, 170-pound right-handed hitting and throwing infielder is opening 2025 where he finished last season.
"The more I realize the adversity side of baseball, the more I love the game," Richardson said. "You go 0-for-4 one day, you have to have a short memory, because you have to go back out there the next day and compete. I like figuring out how to adjust to things.
"I love the challenge of working through it. Everything you do in life is making a choice. No single moment or thing defines who I am."
A Willie Mays tribute
You must be registered for see images attach
Richardson deepened his connection to baseball last summer when MLB staged a game between the Cardinals and Giants at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.
MLB dubbed the June event as a "Tribute to the Negro Leagues," but it took on more meaning when the great Willie Mays died at age 93 two days before the event.
Richardson was among a handful of players the Cardinals invited to attend at the historic, 114-year-old stadium where the Birmingham Black Barons clubhouse still stood and where MLB greats like Mays, Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige once played.
"One of the coolest experiences I've ever had in my life," Richardson said. "There was so much history, so much perspective there. I saw guys like Bonds and Griffey Jr., there. I walked into the MLB locker room, saw how those guys get ready to play. Then I saw them bring out all the living Negro League players to give them a tribute.
"I felt elation, frustration, excitement … just an amazing experience."
What to know about the 2025 Peoria Chiefs
- The Peoria Chiefs open their 2025 season with an Opening Day matchup with Quad Cities on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in Dozer Park. It launches a three-game weekend home series with the River Bandits.
- Dozer Park has undergone a name adjustment. The Chiefs now formally play at Wilson Services Field at Dozer Park. It's part of a deal under which the East Peoria company, owned by Ben Wilson, will serve as the grounds-keeping force at the ballpark.
- The Chiefs will open with 32 players, 29 on the active list. There are 21 players back from the 2024 team that played .500 ball in the second half on the way to a 59-72 overall record.
- There are five players rostered who are among the Top 30 prospects in the Cardinals farm system. They include 6-foot-7 Taiwan pitcher Chen-Wei Lin (No. 13), right-handed pitcher Darlin Saladin (No. 17), catcher Ryan Campos (No. 18), right-handed pitcher Zack Showalter and outfielder Zach Levenson (No. 28).
- Among the Chiefs starting pitchers is Hancel Rincon, a righty who pitched for Peoria in 2024 and threw a Midwest League leading 132 ⅔ innings.
- Among the returnees is Josh Baez, a Cardinals second-round pick in 2021 who hit 10 home runs for Peoria last season.
- The Chiefs new manager is Roberto Espinoza, who is in his 12th season as a coach in the Cardinals organization and has managed at Johnson City and in the St. Louis complex league. He played against Peoria back in the day while with Quad Cities.
- The Opening Day roster includes players from six countries and Puerto Rico.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Cardinals prospects: Peoria Chiefs second baseman thrives on baseball, faith
Continue reading...
