He’s had to pay his dues on the bench but now is the time for Richard Blue to make his mark in Stonewall baseball history. “He’s been part of some good teams (three trips to state before Covid) that we’ve had here so he spent a lot of time sitting,” said his coach Chuck Barton. “But all of that time he always paid attention, has a good baseball IQ and has worked his way to success.”

Blue is hitting .321 this season out of the cleanup spot with 22 RBI’s. He can play just about any infield position and also pitches. “He’s generally our number two pitcher with good off-speed stuff. We use him a lot to counter what opponents see from our hard throwers,” said Barton. “One of the great things about Richard is the positive attitude and energy he brings to the field. We play a brutal schedule here and we take some knocks but he keeps the team moving forward and doesn’t let them get down. We don’t have as many older guys this year so I really rely on our seniors like Richard to help the new guys along.”

Blue also plays basketball for the Longhorns at either a guard spot or in the middle, though at just 5-10 that’s sometimes a challenge. “I just play really physical inside when I have to,” laughed Blue.

He looks to the major leagues to draw some inspiration as a player. “I like to follow DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees,” said Blue. “I like the way he plays the game with a lot of effort and going 100 percent full out.”

Asked to provide three words that define who he is, Blue said honest, loyal and hard-working with the last being the most important. “I think being hard-working is the most important because working hard to get what you have is what really matters.”

Richard credits his older brother Trejan with teaching him a lot about baseball and enjoyed the years they got to play together on a travel ball team.

Off the athletic fields, Richard is a member of the National Honor Society and is in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He plans to attend OSU-IT when he leaves Stonewall and study some area of engineering.