Sports
RICEOWLS.COM
Baseball in the Blood When Matthew Reckling was a senior at Houston’s Kinkaid High School, his feats on the pitching mound, as well as his academic success, drew the attention of top schools in the region. But when Rice expressed interest in bringing him aboard, Reckling hesitated. Playing for the Owls had been a lifelong dream, but one thing was holding him back: Reckling Park.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to take on everything surrounding my name, but I thought that it was a huge blessing for me to get the opportunity to play for the Owls.” — Matthew Reckling
As it happened, Reckling, now a junior, is the grandson of Tommy Reckling ’54, for whom Rice’s stadium is named. Despite his talents, Reckling was afraid many would immediately assume he was only on the team because of his relation to Tommy. “He came in here with a lot of pressure on him due to his name,” head coach Wayne Graham said. “He also came in here with no sense of entitlement. But he put a lot of pressure on himself, because he wanted to prove he belonged.” Fortunately, Reckling’s last name didn’t deter him from joining the team. But there was something of a chip on his shoulder, a desire to prove his detractors wrong. Despite that pressure, and despite his relative newness to the mound — he had become a pitcher only in his final year at Kinkaid — he posted 34 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched, becoming an important cog on the pitching staff. But a subpar sophomore season — including a 6.32 ERA and 11 walks in only 15.2 innings pitched — sent Reckling back to the drawing board. “Last year I was a mess,” he said. “I was pretty much surviving what you would call ‘stuff.’ I wasn’t much of a pitcher.” With his coaches pinpointing and correcting flaws in his mechanics, Reckling spent the summer trying to fulfill the promise he showed during his successful freshman campaign. He’d always been what Graham termed a “recoiler” — instead of continuing his forward arm motion, Reckling would snap his right arm back after releasing his pitch. Not only did this result in wildness on the mound, but it probably would cause arm troubles down the road. However, if his numbers during fall ball are any indication, his recoiling is a thing of the past. Reckling dominated his teammates with
a 1.44 ERA — best on the team — and has set his sights on becoming one of the pitching staff’s anchors. “In the fall, I saw my velocity jump, and I began throwing a lot of strikes,” he said. “Everything we worked on over the summer finally clicked.” Reckling is set to see his numbers jump significantly now that the 2011 season is under way, which is good news for his grandfather. Despite being drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers out of high school, Tommy Reckling, who still attends most of Rice’s home games, decided to play baseball for the Owls from 1952 until 1954 and forge a career in the Houston community. When Rice’s athletics department decided that a new baseball facility was necessary, Tommy Reckling stepped forward and offered his assistance. “My grandfather is probably the most humble guy in the world,” Reckling said. “He’s obviously done well, but he still drives an old Honda minivan.” Tommy Reckling refrains from giving too many pointers to his grandson, leaving the coaching to Graham and his staff. But he still speaks with Reckling after the games, discussing strategies, offering advice and sharing a passion for the game that has transferred from one generation to the next. So while Reckling may still feel the need to prove his worth, he feels nothing but pride when he steps on the mound, grips the baseball and sees his name scrawled on the stadium’s scoreboard. “I didn’t know if I wanted to take on everything surrounding my name, but I thought that it was a huge blessing for me to get the opportunity to play for the Owls,” Reckling said. “My parents and grandparents appreciated it, and there’s no better place than Rice.” —Casey Michel
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