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USA Baseball mourns the loss of 1993 National Team member Steve Reich
// Dave Fanucchi // July 1, 2005
Durham, NC - 1993 USA Baseball National Team member Steve Reich – a relief pitcher who played collegiately at the U.S. Military Academy – was among eight Navy SEALs and eight members of the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment who were aboard a Chinook helicopter that crashed in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan on Tuesday, the military has confirmed. It was the deadliest single blow to American forces fighting an escalating insurgency in the country. “It is with great sorrow that we send this information concerning Steve’s passing,” said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. “We would ask that you keep Steve’s wife and family in your good thoughts and prayers at this difficult time, and let us not forget the other victims of this crash, as well as all of the military who protect our freedoms far from home every day. Steve was a great baseball player and a great pilot, who represented his country on and off the field with pride.” Reich was selected from among all of the United States athletes at the 1993 World University Games in Buffalo, NY to carry the American flag into the opening ceremonies. Reich saw action in 17 games that summer, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.48 ERA. He also earned one of his two victories at the WUG with a 13-7 win over Chinese Taipei. Some of Reich’s USA teammates from that summer of ‘93 include Todd Helton (Rockies), Mark Bellhorn (Red Sox), Todd Walker (Cubs), Dustin Hermanson (White Sox), Danny Graves (Mets), Paul Wilson (Reds) and A.J. Hinch (Phillies). He pitched briefly in the Baltimore Orioles system in 1996 before being recalled to active duty. Helton remembered Reich as "one of the nicest guys I ever met." Following his baseball career, Reich proved his patriotism on the battlefield in Afghanistan. "Steve was always able to do everything he tried. People imagined any corner or situation he got himself into he would come out of it," said Richard Sears, a town official in Washington, Reich's hometown in the rolling hills of northwestern Connecticut. Reich, 34, was on his fourth tour of duty when the U.S. special forces helicopter he was aboard was shot down, a family spokesman said. He had been a company commander in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., and had been married just four months earlier. "You see this big, huge smile of pride," family spokesman Gary Fitzherbert said, remembering Reich carrying the United States flag at the 1993 World University Games. "That's how we all remember him."
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