Another View
Since being called up in May, Simeon Woods Richardson has fit in nicely as a Minnesota Twins spot starter. I finally got to see him on the mound as he earned his second MLB victory on May 28, a 4-2 decision over Kansas City.
The 6’3” right hander tossed four scoreless innings before giving up two runs in the fifth inning. He finished with two runs on three hits, four strikeouts and two walks, and generated 10 swings and misses.
“I think he was really efficient [in his] last start,” a three-hitter in 4.2 scoreless innings May 22 at Washington, observed Twins Baseball Operations President Derek Falvey of Woods Richardson. He told us earlier in the season that Woods Richardson is continuing to improve: “He’s figuring out how to work up and down…how to move in and out. He’s just maturing.”
Manager Rocco Baldelli also was impressed with Woods Richardson’s performance. “He’s pitching more like an experienced veteran-type picture with a lot of feel,” said the Twins skipper. “He stepped into a spot in our rotation where we really needed something. We needed someone to step into a role, and he’s done even more than that.
“He gives us a chance to win virtually every time he takes the mound right now,” added Baldelli.
Said the pitcher after the game, “I think just attacking the strike zone, trying to command the strike zone with the heater [fastball].”
Woods Richardson’s 2.57 ERA ranked third among MLB rookies with 35 or more innings pitched in 2024. He is working hard to finally secure a big league rookies roster spot after almost five years in the minors.
“He made real adjustments this off season,” said the manager of Woods Richardson. “He changed the delivery and his arm stroke a little bit, brought his arm down.”
Woods Richardson simply explained, “I dropped it six inches” as he demonstrated his right arm up high then brought it down about a half-foot. “Six inches might not seem like a lot, but it’s kind of a drastic change. So, we worked on it this off season.”
Woods Richardson stands out not so much because of his height, but that he’s among the few Black baseball pitchers.
“There’s not a lot of Black pitchers, even in minor league baseball,” he admitted. “So it’s always fun when you see another person that looks like you who’s probably been through the same struggles and maybe different struggles.”
Black pitchers have been underrepresented in the major leagues over the past 12 years, making up only 2-3% of major league pitchers.
Takashi Williams, a junior journalism student at Columbia University, wrote for his school’s newspaper back in February on the declining numbers of Black pitchers. He said it starts from the youth levels because Black participation in baseball overall has “declined significantly” over the past half decade. Williams also pointed out that coaches often switch potential Black pitchers to other on-field positions for various reasons.
And if the Black player proceeds to the mound, “Black pitchers are always under a magnifying glass,” Williams told me in a phone interview last weekend.
Legendary Black pitcher Mudcat Grant called fellow pitchers of color “Black Aces” who won at least 20 games in a single season in the majors, as he once did. The last to join this group was David Price in 2012.
Woods Richardson said proudly that he’d like to join that esteemed group one day.
“His pitches are more consistent, the command is better. The velocity has picked up on the fastball, sliders moving better,” Baldelli concluded on Woods Richardson. “He’s getting better reactions from the hitters.
“That’s a winning combination,” the Twins manager pointed out.