Reeder leaves legacy at Cedarville
by Jim Sawin, sports information intern
CEDARVILLE, Ohio (5-17-2007) - Richie Reeder put together a successful baseball career at Cedarville University. Reeder, a senior communications major, finished his career with a lifetime .308 batting average while making 143 starts out of 151 games in four years for the Yellow Jackets. He drove in 72 runs during his tenure at CU with four home runs. The third baseman actually hit five home runs, but had one taken away in his first collegiate at-bat.
"The first time I ever put on a Yellow Jacket uniform, I hit the longest home run of my career," said Reeder. "But here's the funny part - we were playing a two-year college and found out after the game that the stats wouldn't count because they weren't a four-year school. So, I got my first start of my college career, hit a 390 foot home run to left-center field, was awarded the game ball, and then we found out the stats didn't count. Looking back now, it was pretty funny."
Baseball has been a big part of Richie's college life. The senior captain doesn't just play during the regular season; he has taken two trips to the Dominican Republic in the fall of his freshman and junior years with the Cedarville squad to work alongside Daystar Baptist Mission. The team would play against major league baseball academy teams and then gather around home plate after each contest to pray and share their testimonies with their competitors.
"It was an amazing experience just learning to love all the people and seeing how big baseball is in the Dominican," said Reeder, a NCCAA Midwest Region Team selection. "I saw firsthand how baseball can be used as a huge stage for ministry."
Richie also interned with Athletes in Action during the summer of 2005 and served as the public relations director for their summer league baseball team, the Mineral Wells Steam. He never really slowed down, working in the office during the day and serving as the on-field public address announcer at night.
Richie's latest baseball encounter came last summer when he interned with the Detroit Tigers. The NAIA Scholar-Athlete worked with the promotions, marketing and media relations departments and handled all on-field festivities.
"I put together several programs like photo day, ceremonial first pitches, and national anthem procedures," explained Richie. "I would meet the people before the game and be their hospitality person. I met a lot of cool people, but Jerome Bettis was the biggest, literally."
Although baseball has been a big part of Richie's life, it's still just one part. For the past four years, he has been a member of the campus organization OPE which raises money for underprivileged groups and sacrifices their time to help the elderly with service projects. He has served as an officer in this organization for the past two years while also taking on Resident Assistant duties in the dorm during the same time period. With all these extra-curricular activities, one would think Richie's studies would take a major hit, but that isn't so. He successfully graduated on May 5 with honors.
"It's really tough to balance everything, but it all really comes down to priorities," commented Reeder. "I've found that if I keep my priorities in order and just lay everything at the Lord's feet, He gives me just enough time to get everything done."
Richie's skill and perseverance has not gone unnoticed. On April 23 of this year, he was the recipient of the prestigious Donald E. Callan Award at the Yellow Jacket Honors and Appreciation Banquet. This award recognizes one Cedarville four-year male athlete that best displays athletic ability, Christian service, scholarship, Christian character and leadership.
"To have an award that has Dr. Don Callan's name on it and mine on it is very humbling," said Reeder. "It's a huge honor because I respect him so much and have had so many great talks with him over the past four years. I just thank the Lord for the blessing of recognizing me with that award."
"Of the young men in Cedarville that I know, he has matured beyond his years," said Dr. Don Callan, a former athletic director and coach at CU, who continues as a professor of exercise and sport science. "He seems to understand life and who he's supposed to be. Richie's not driven by sports particularly; he's driven more by ministry but absolutely loves baseball and he's a good player. I would recommend him for any job I could think of because he's such a special person."
Richie attributes much of his maturity to two mentors he has built relationships with during his four years in college: Cedarville University president Dr. Bill Brown and Dr. Callan.
"I've had the privilege of getting to know Dr. Brown on a one-on-one level over the past four years," commented Reeder. "He has motivated me to learn everything I can in life so that I can have in much in common with as many people as possible. It's been so amazing for me to see in both of their lives just how simple, yet profound their walk with the Lord is, and that's the walk I want to have."
Richie Reeder has left a legacy at Cedarville University in more than just the game of baseball. His leadership and encouragement will be missed on campus, but Richie is ready to display his wisdom in his future endeavors. He will be getting married on July 7 to fellow classmate Regan Rice before moving to Pittsburgh where Richie will be working at Marsh Incorporated, an insurance brokerage company that specializes in risk management. After paying off some student loans, he and Regan would like to eventually get involved in full-time ministry, all the while remembering who he is and what he has been called to do.
"I've learned that who I am is not a baseball player. Who I am is not an RA. Who I am is not a student. And, who I am is not a broker. Who I am is a child of the King and I'm redeemed and that's going to give me the most pleasure on earth. And the only reason God hasn't called me up to be with Him yet is because I'm put here to evangelize to other people."
That is Richie's purpose in life, and he's ready to let the world know about it.
