Having gone through a pair of surgeries, Teon Richburg knows about pain.
The Coppin State shortstop has battled through injuries, and now he?s trying to block out both those aches and the anguish that comes with a tumultuous sophomore season ? as the veteran leader of the 0-44 Eagles.
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“Just getting myself back into shape was tough,” said Richburg, a product of Mount St. Joseph. “This year, I really look at it as a growing experience. We really went through so much. We look to grow from it. We?ve got a lot of recruits coming in.”
Coppin?s first-year coach Harvey Lee, who played in the Yankees? farm system, commiserates with Richburg?s sacrifices.
“I can understand what he?s going through. This is the year he wanted to get drafted, and he has the tools to get drafted,” Lee said. “I compare myself to him, and I got a shot to play professional baseball.”
Richburg, second on the team with a .240 average and eight RBI, is widely considered the most talented player on the Eagles? 11-man roster. That?s why he?s been moved from the outfield to shortstop ? and occasionally, to the pitcher?s mound.
“He?s probably the best athlete and you need that guy at shortstop,” said former Coppin State coach Guy Robertson, who coached Richburg before stepping down in July. “I know that he has not played infield since high school and that was third base. And you don?t take a third baseman and make him a shortstop in college.”
While Richburg has committed 13 errors, he?s done so at an unfamiliar position and is nowhere near the team leader in the category. And he?s only one of two players to start in each of the team?s 44 contests.
Lee said a number of players are putting too much pressure on themselves amid the team?s struggles. It?s likely, with his passion for the game, that Richburg is one of them.
“There?s not a whole lot of people that work harder than he does and has more passion for the game than he does,” Robertson said.
