Baseball is known as America’s Game, and graduate student John Cheatwood’s life can back that statement up.
The relief pitcher for the Purple and Gold has seen the sport take him across the country, carry him through difficult moments, and help mold him through diverse experiences and continual change.
As a matter of fact, he wasn’t always a pitcher.
“I was a catcher all my life,” Cheatwood said. “I had wanted to be a catcher; [two-time MLB All-Star and longtime manager] Mike Scioscia was a catcher for the Dodgers, a longtime Dodger. I was always a catcher and I loved it. It was the unsung general, basically. The best seat in the house–that’s what I called it.”
“When I got to college, though, [my coaches] were like, ‘Hey, you’re pretty big. We’re going to put you on the mound.’ I’m grateful for the change, but pitching is one of those things where… not only do you get to control the game, but you control the whole time of the game, so it’s amazing. I fell in love with it immediately.”
Cheatwood’s love of baseball came early, and it all started in the City of Angels–emphasis on Angels.
“I’m a [Los Angeles] Angels fan, so I loved that Anaheim wasn’t too far [from home growing up],” Cheatwood said. “I loved going to Angels games.”
It didn’t take long watching one of Los Angeles’ two professional baseball teams for a young Cheatwood to find a passion for his team.
“You can ask my mom this–it was my lifelong dream to take Mike Scioscia’s job. Mike was a longtime manager for the Angels, led them to the 2002 World Series. That’s something I’m following; I want to be a coach after I’m done playing.”
Managing the Angels might not yet be on the Lipscomb pitcher’s resume, but Cheatwood doesn’t lack in baseball experience.
A whirlwind of a career that has seen Cheatwood play and live in six states since high school all started in San Bernardino County, just east of Los Angeles.
Situated in the Inland Empire region of southern California, Cheatwood’s hometown of Chino holds a special place in his heart, no matter how many other places he’s been able to call home since then.
“My Papa Neil always told me, and it’s something I still love about it: in the Inland Empire…there’s no other place like it in the world. You can go an hour west and you’re at the beach, you can go 30 minutes north and you’re in the city, you can go two hours east and you’re in the desert, or you can go about two hours south and a little bit east and you’re in the mountains and the snow.
“You have everything within a driving distance, so it was something that I loved. We had everything.”
In high school, the Cheatwood family left everything behind to move to the midwest. Jerry Cheatwood, John’s father, relocated the family for a new job, and John embarked on what turned into a number of long-distance moves.
“It was one of those things when I was at that age where it’s something we had to do for our family,” Cheatwood said. “My dad got an opportunity and so we took it.”
“Over the last couple of years, it’s been fun. I’ve been to some crazy places, some awesome places. God’s opened doors for me, and it’s just continued and continued.”
That first cross-country move as a high school freshman wasn’t an easy transition, but it was an opened door nonetheless.
“When we moved from Chino to Indiana, I think it was something that really opened my eyes a couple of years later. It’s life, it’s what happens, but it’s for the best.”
Not only has Cheatwood moved around often since starting high school, but he has also experienced plenty of different cultures along the way. More populous environments in Chino and in the Dayton, Ohio, area slowly gave way to more rural areas.
“When I finished high school in Richmond [Indiana], I went to Sinclair Community College in Dayton, took a gap year, and ended up going to Lincoln Trail College in Illinois.
“[That was] another different culture, you’re out in the middle of nowhere. I mean, we had a prison about 60 yards from our apartment and our baseball field. [I went] from a city to a cornfield.”
After Lincoln Trail, Cheatwood played with Huntington, West Virginia-based Marshall University, a Division I school in Conference USA. He earned his undergraduate degree in his single season there and went 1-0 on a 5.23 ERA for the Thundering Herd.
Once he realized he could use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA for COVID-19, Cheatwood didn’t waste a moment finding another new home for one last run at collegiate baseball.
“It was one of those things I kind of already had set in my mind after my senior season at Marshall. I realized I had a year left, and I’m not going to give up on this game, so I hit the transfer portal. It took a while, and it was quiet at times, but then it really picked up.
“I got to talk to [Lipscomb head coach Jeff] Forehand, and man, when I got to talk to him, it was like, ‘you know what, this is something you don’t get to see very often.’ Honestly, the opportunity was there and I couldn’t turn it down.”
In Lipscomb, Cheatwood has found a coaching staff that values his veteran status and experience across the collegiate game.
“The biggest part about being a vet is that some of the younger guys, the underclassmen, they’re still fresh. Some of them have transferred in from a junior college–I was a junior college guy. Some of them are fresh out of high school–I went through the same thing. It’s something that over a couple of years you’ll start to understand, how the speed of the game changes, the level, the knowledge, the feel.
“A lot of our underclassmen come up to me, asking me questions, and I just tell them, ‘You’ll learn, you’ll figure it out. It’s going to hit you like a truck.'”
As far as getting hit like a truck, Cheatwood has veteran status in that category, too.
Between his two junior college stops, John was forced to take time off from baseball when Jerry, his father, suffered a stroke. John made the decision to step away from baseball and return home, working multiple jobs at a time to help his family make ends meet.
“That was a tough time. We were going through some serious family situations and some personal situations with myself. It was the best decision for me to step away and go home and realize that, you know, you only get one dad. I’ll do whatever I can to help him, no matter what, so I did my part.
“I tried my best to help out at the house, and I think that’s one of those things that when that happened and I was working 12 to 14-hour days, that after doing that for about a year, I got the shot to go back. I did my time, and luckily God was able to say that, you know, ‘You’re not done yet. Go back and let’s see if we can make this work.'”
Once Jerry made a full recovery, John returned to baseball with Lincoln Trail and has been pitching his way around the country ever since. Now, he looks forward to staying in the game professionally as a coach.
“I’m going for my certificate in leadership coaching [at Lipscomb], and it’s something that I know will be very beneficial once I start that career path. I have a booklet, actually, of things that I’ve kept knowledge-wise to know.”
The piece of knowledge that is most pertinent to Cheatwood at this stage in his life? Have fun.
“This is my last dance, per se. Over the last couple of months, I’ve had a couple of practices where we get done and clean up and do some field work, and I’ll just sit there. Hang out, enjoy the view, and I’ll smile. This has been awesome, you know? So that’s the biggest thing is just having fun.
“If you’re not having fun playing, this isn’t a game you should want to play.”
Of course, having fun is always easier when you’re winning games. For this year’s squad at Lipscomb, the expectation is to win and win often.
“I will say [that] this [is a] team I’m grateful to be a part of this year. This is a team full of talent, grit, experience, [and] strong heart. The group we have this year, we have talent that wanted to come here, and we could really make something happen. It’s just the buy-in that we have that’s really going to show.”
A roster that boasts three senior transfers from Power Five schools has Lipscomb at a 7-4 record on the year, and Cheatwood doesn’t intend to stop there.
“This is the type of sport where you can really see a team that maybe you’ve never heard of just show up on the map, and that’s what we’re shooting for this year.”
The Bisons were projected to finish 10th in the ASUN Coaches Poll, but their 7-4 record in non-conference play currently leads the West Division and is fifth-best in the conference.
Next up for the team is a two-day home-and-home series with Austin Peay. They travel to Clarksville 3 p.m. Tuesday before welcoming the Governors to Nashville 3 p.m. Wednesday.
In the meantime, Cheatwood’s four-year-old self who vowed he would take the Angels’ manager job one day would likely be proud of who he is today, no matter how successful the Bisons are this year.
“It’s been a rocky road. I would look back at my four-year-old self and say, ‘It’s going to be a rough ride, but you turned out exactly how you were supposed to be in the best way possible.’ That’s how I would put it.”
With faith, adaptability, and a willingness to learn from every stop on his journey, Cheatwood has come out stronger from every challenge he’s faced.
“There’s been some dark, dark times. There’s been some lows of the lows, and [there’s] a point where you’re in the middle of a random parking lot and you’re just like, ‘Why? Why this, why now?’ But [God] was always there to answer.
“There’s been multiple times where I’ve had to go Him like, ‘I need you to talk to me. Hey man, knock knock, I need some help.’ But no, He’s our Lord and Savior and He’s helped me along the way, and I’m forever grateful.”
If his life up until now is any indication, this year won’t be an easy or painless one for the Bisons’ biggest veteran.
But if and when life throws curveballs at John Cheatwood, there aren’t many people who can throw them back as well as he can.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics