Four-year varsity slugger is rich with talent

Not everyone can claim to have played for a Blair baseball team that has gone 25-13 over the last two years, signed a contract with the Silver Spring/Takoma Park Thunderbolts, won a State Championship with a summer league team in 2001, earned pre-season All-State honors and received an athletic scholarship from Indiana University. But then again, not everyone is Josh Richardson.

During Richardson's freshman year, a parent remarked to Blair baseball coach John Macdonald that the team lacked a true shortstop. Macdonald responded, "Josh Richardson is going to be a great shortstop."
The senior, who has manned Blair's infield as a starter for the last four years, has lived up to Macdonald's prediction. Richardson is the only Blair player since the 1950s to earn both All-State honors and receive a Division I scholarship, says Macdonald.

Not only has Richardson shined in a Blair uniform, but he has also showcased his talent while playing American Legion baseball for Cissel Saxon when it won a State Championship in 2001 and a County Championship in 2002. Last summer, Richardson hit an incredible .465 for Cissel Saxon during the regular season.

This summer, Richardson will play for the Thunderbolts, a team in the Clark Griffith collegiate wooden-bat league, before he moves on to Indiana, where he will be one of eight players recruited for a team that placed fourth in the Big Ten Conference in 2002.

Macdonald feels that Richardson's on-field success, which has earned him an athletic scholarship, stems from a combination of natural talent and work ethic. "Josh's strength is that he doesn't have any weaknesses," says Macdonald.

In fact, Macdonald believes that Richardson possesses skills far beyond those of his Montgomery County competitors and feels his talent is comparable to that of almost any player in Blair history. "Josh is as good a baseball player as anyone to come through this school," he says.

Richardson is thankful for the support of Macdonald and the baseball program. "It feels good that people have confidence in me. I couldn't have been in a better environment for the last four years," he says.

Right now, Richardson is uncertain how far his baseball career will take him. But he knows he loves the game and wants to keep pushing for a professional career. "It's always been my dream to go to the major leagues," he says.