Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Remembering a Friend and Colleague - Richard Durrett


Today has been a pretty tough day, as I am thinking constantly of a friend and colleague, Richard Durrett. Richard passed away yesterday after he collapsed, he was only 38 years old

I knew Richard well, from his days with the Dallas Morning News and ESPN Dallas. When I worked for the Rangers in 2006, Richard was always a shoulder to lean on and a person I trusted to talk with when there were struggles in my first year working in Major League Baseball. And he was a voracious worker, always on top of things and always approaching his job as a professional.

In my many trips back to Texas with the Mariners, Richard was always one of the first people I saw when I walked in the press box, and he always greeted me the same way -- "Jeffrey, how are you doing!" He was quick to ask about my family, how things were going and what was new. The baseball questions always came, but not until he was caught up on how I was doing. This was Richard in a nutshell.

There have been a lot of great tributes written about Richard by his colleagues T.R. Sullivan, Anthony Andro, Jeff Wilson and Evan Grant (to name just a few). I encourage you to read them all.

No road trip to Texas will ever be the same without seeing the smiling face of Richard in the press box. I am kind of at a loss for words, but want to thank him for being a friend. We will miss you Richard!