Former Rochester Honkers pitcher Dustin Richardson made his Major League debut late in the 2009 season pitching three games for the Boston Red Sox. Richardson, 25, made four starts for the Honkers during the 2004 season.
The 6’6″, 220 pound lefty hails from Newton, KS, and pitched for Rochester in 2004 following his sophomore year at Cowley County Community College in Kansas. From there he transferred to Texas Tech before becoming a 5th round pick by Boston in 2006.
Richardson’s Red Sox debut was on September 28th at home against Toronto. He pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in that game and finished the year with 3.1 scoreless innings in his three relief outings.
In 45 relief appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Richardson went 2-2 with a 2.55 ERA striking out 96 in 74 innings. He struck out 16 and walk just two batters in 10.1 innings at Triple-A Pawtucket before being called up.
Richardson went 1-2 with a 5.94 ERA making four starts and throwing 16.2 innings for the Honkers in 2004.
He joins Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Andre Ethier and Oakland Athletics’ relief pitcher Jay Marshall as former Honkers in the Major Leagues. San Diego Padres’ minor league first baseman Valentino Pascucci is another former Honker that has also played in the big leagues.
In all, 60 former Northwoods League players have played Major League Baseball, with 34 of them spending time in the majors this season.