Former Astros’ pitcher likes giving back to his community.
By: Neil Hay
In 11 years of professional baseball, Rich Scheid has "been there, done that."
Rich Scheid is home now, in Hightstown, and on the baseball field. Still doing what he loves most. Teaching baseball as new manager of American Legion Post 148.
Scheid was manager Bobby Huzzy’s pitching coach when Huzzy took over Post 148s in 1998. Huzzy became head coach at Neptune High School this spring and found he could not devote the time necessary to coach both at the high school level and in American Legion. So the former pitcher Scheid stepped up to the plate to take over the Hightstown entry in the Mercer County American Legion League before the start of the 2003 season.
"I started with the Legion team in 1998 as Bobby’s pitching coach. I was able to make the time commitment. We had some fun. We worked well together. I continue to (stay with Post 148) because I enjoy it," said Scheid on the telephone the day after Post 148 was beaten by Ewing, 13-0, to fall to 2-1.
"I have a major league baseball background. I live in the community (Hightstown) and it may sound corny but I believe in giving back to the community. There’s a misconception that the American Legion team is subsidized by Post 148. We do our own fundraising. It is a short season, but it takes a commitment of six or seven weeks."
Scheid has a long baseball resume, one that has taken him from Oneonta, New York to Vancouver and Edmonton, to Florida and Houston, to Latin America, to Taiwan and Japan, and many stops in between. Most of his experience as a right-handed pitcher has been in the minor leagues. But he did get to the majors, and his brief career record (1992, Houston, 0-1 W-L, 6.00 ERA, 7 G, 1 Start, 0 CG, 12 INN, 14 H, 6 BB, 8 K, 1 AB, .000 BA, 1 PO, 1 Assist) can be found in the Baseball Encyclopedia along with anyone else who ever stepped on a major league field.
The 38-year old Scheid comes from Staten Island, where he attended Tottenville, one of New York City’s premiere baseball-playing public high schools.
Said Scheid, "That part of Staten Island has a great baseball tradition. Little League, Babe Ruth, the high school. Like Hamilton, it is a community with a great commitment to the game. And the coaching is great. That is how I made the major leagues. I can relate to that."
From Tottenville Scheid attended Seton Hall University, where he was a teammate of future major leaguer Craig Biggio. After his junior year, Scheid was drafted in 1986 by the New York Yankees, who did not have a first round pick but tabbed him on the second round with their first pick of the draft.
"I grew up a Yankee fan living in New York," recalled Scheid, his boyhood dream coming true.
With a career in pro baseball beckoning, Scheid left Seton Hall and in the summer of 1986 was assigned to Oneonta in the Class A New York-Penn League where his manager was Buck Showalter. (Although Scheid did not graduate with his class at Seton Hall, he did continue his studies and in 1990 earned his BA degree.)
Scheid, whose Oneonta teammates included Bernie Williams, Jim Leyritz, Hal Morris and Kevin Maas, compiled an impressive 9-1 record.
"It was great start in pro baseball," said Scheid.
The following spring Scheid attended the Yankees’ minor league camp at Fort Lauderdale, and was promoted to their Eastern League AA team in Albany, NY. In July of 1987 Scheid was traded along with Dean Wilkins and Yankees pitcher Bob Tewksbury to the Chicago Cubs in a deal that brought Steve Trout to the Bronx. Scheid was assigned to Pittsfield, Mass., the Cubs’ AA affiliate in the Eastern League, which was managed by Jim Essian.
"I did okay. I struggled with my control. I was making the transition to a new team," whose members included future Cubbies Mark Grace and Rich Amirol.
Scheid remained in the Cubs organization the next two summers, with Pittsfield in 1988, and with Charlotte (AA) and Iowa (AAA) in 1989. That winter Scheid was involved in a minor league swap that sent him to the White Sox. In 1990 the Chisox sent him to Birmingham, their AA farm club. Later that year he pitched for AAA Vancouver.
"The White Sox were a good organization. I had a lot of opportunities. I went from a starter to a set-up man. I had a solid season" with an earned run average of under three runs a game and about one strikeout per inning over 80 innings pitched. That winter Scheid made the White Sox’ 40-man major league roster.
In spring training 1991, Scheid was in Sarasota, Florida at Chicago’s major league camp. He did not make the 25-man roster that started the season, however, instead pitching for Vancouver, where he remained through 1991 and into the 1992 season. In mid-1992, Scheid was sent to Houston’s Tucson affiliate in the AAA Pacific Coast League.
"I pitched really well" at Tucson. Over the winter he had intended to pitch winter baseball in Venezuela, the third year he would pitch in Latin America. He was heading home after the Tucson season was over. When he arrived a waiting message from Houston General Manager Bob Watson said that Scheid was being called up to the Astros. That September of 1992 he made his big league debut, pitching in relief at home in the Astrodome against the Atlanta Braves. Through the end of the season he pitched mainly out of the bullpen, although he did get one start against Cincinnati.
But Houston let Scheid go and that winter he signed a contract with the expansion Florida Marlins, who sent him to their AAA team in Edmonton. In 1994 Scheid split time between Edmonton and the Marlins, who were managed by Rene Lachmann. But Scheid’s stay in the bigs was halted by the 1994 strike that cut short the regular season and canceled the playoffs and World Series.
"I was pitching well. I had some starts. It was just the breaks. It’s the old story of being in the right place at the right time. Same thing with the White Sox. They had no injuries and everyone pitched well," explained Scheid of why he never got the call to join the big league team while in the Chicago organization.
"I went home, like everyone else" when the strike was called. "I worked out and stayed in shape." That winter, 1995, he played in Puerto Rico.
With the strike settled Scheid went to spring camp in 1995 with the Florida Marlins. He had a slow start and was sent down to Charlotte, now the Marlins’ AAA team. The following year, 1996, Scheid played in Taiwan and Japan. It was his last year in professional baseball.
"The clubs didn’t have much interest. After eleven years, that was it."
Fortunately for Scheid, he had his degree from Seton Hall. In 1997 he became involved in the telecommunications industry, a field in which he is still active in a management capacity.
"The guys in baseball at Seton Hall always have been successful," said Scheid, who also does instructional work with Dave Gallagher’s Baseball Academy.
Scheid’s stay in professional baseball may be behind him. But Scheid wants to remain a part of the game, albeit on a more modest – and local – level. The way he sees it, if a player is willing to make the commitment to Legion baseball, then Scheid will commit himself and all his resources into making that player a better Legion baseball player.
At Hightstown Post 148, Scheid and his coaches Jeff Pierro and Doug Herrin take players from essentially three area high schools and put them together to make a team. Scheid, who still handles his team’s pitchers, said, "It is different managing the team from being the pitching coach. I was able to spread myself around more and spend individual time with the pitchers. With my experience I am able to run a practice, keep the kids sharp, get everyone into the game, keep them motivated."
Like the corner of Staten Island where Scheid learned his trade, nearby Hamilton too is the envy of Mercer County baseball, where successful high school teams at Hamilton and Steinert evolve into strong Legion teams from Hamilton Post 31 and Broad Street Park 313.
"The kids from Hamilton have been playing together since March. There’s a lot of continuity there."
Hightstown Post 148 has been representative too, making the playoffs four of the last six years. But, as Scheid admits, there is a lot of teaching to be done, even at this level.
"Depending on the high school program, you still have to teach the game, stress fundamentals, find kids who are athletic, who can play multiple positions. In this league it usually comes down to pitching and defense.
"I try to get kids who want to continue to play through the summer," continued Scheid. "Hightstown and Allentown had a better season than they had in the past, and Peddie came on strong. If the kids are serious about baseball, they need to play in a good league. This offers them that opportunity. We play at Mercer County Park and that’s a nice facility. The competition’s better, the kids are out of school, there are less distractions. It is unlike high school. We’ve had a lot of success. The emphasis is on commitment and going on to the next level.
"I am happy doing it. It’s fun. Obviously you take the good with the bad. It’s challenging but rewarding at the same time. The bottom line is seeing the kids developing. I want to see the kids play through the summer and get better. The season is a short one. It is competitive. We all want to win. There is not a lot of time for practice as we start right after the end of the high school baseball season. We do a lot on the fly. That’s the challenging part. We make adjustments during the game and, hopefully, after each game the players will learn a little more."
Scheid and wife Roberta live in Hightstown with daughters Brianna, now 11 years old, and new baby Kathleen, born two months ago.
"Roberta loves it. She is very supportive," said Scheid of his American Legion involvement. "She knows it’s a commitment. We take it year by year."

