The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN his first season with the Texas Rangers, Antoan Richardson suffered an injury setback on his journey to a Major League Baseball roster, but remains confident that he will be back on the field better than ever.

Richardson underwent surgery for a herniated disc in his back just over two weeks ago and is currently in the rehab process. However, he has yet to set a timetable for his return.

“I have six weeks of healing and after that period we will re-evaluate and from then I might have the opportunity to start doing some physical stuff, maybe running and then doing some baseball-related activity,” he said.

“Right now I am feeling great, I think I am healing up well, rehab is going well and I am feeling stronger every day, walking better every day. It is a learning process and I feel somewhere, somehow it will help me along the line in becoming a better baseball player.”

Richardson was added to the club’s 40-man roster in March as they continued Major League Baseball (MLB) spring training in Surprise, Arizona.

The Rangers signed Richardson in December as one of three to minor league deals with the club and received an invite to spring training.

“I don’t know how it happened, but I had a herniated disc and it effects the nerves so I was having some pain in my leg and I was losing some strength in my leg,” he said, “Our options were surgery and rehab, but the herniation was so large that the rehab process was not going to be a guarantee that it was going to heal everything and I would have probably been missing the same amount of time. I went with the surgery because I felt like it would get me back on the field as quick as possible and be as strong as possible.”

Richardson, 31, received national acclaim last September when he got the second MLB call-up of his career and enjoyed a successful 13-game stint with the New York Yankees.

“I had multiple teams contact me about different possibilities and after sifting through different offers we narrowed it down to a few and the last two teams were the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers. We felt like this was the best scenario for me, especially at this point in my career,” he said.

“New York helped out a lot. A lot of the guys that I played with in the same situation got opportunities. I was fortunate to be put in places where I could succeed. New York was great, but every organisation is different.”

Prior to the injury, Richardson was embroiled in a position battle for one of the final outfielder spots with Delino DeShields Jr.

“We were locker mates in spring training. I don’t think you think about the competition so much, you just try and get to the point where you’re comfortable with what you do and who you are and you allow the front office to make that decision,” Richardson said.

“I don’t think it’s any bitterness or you pull against the guy but you trust what you do and you concern yourself with helping the team win and you believe if you do that stuff you will succeed and get to where you want to be. At the end of the day you just want to become the best baseball player you can be.”