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Rodney Roy Beck (born August 3, 1968 in Burbank, California) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants (1991-97), Chicago Cubs (1998-99), Boston Red Sox (1999-2001) and San Diego Padres (2003-2004). He batted and threw right handed.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 San Francisco Giants 1.1.1 September 19th, 1997 1.2 Chicago Cubs 1.3 Boston Red Sox 1.4 San Diego Padres 2 Highlights 3 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] San Francisco Giants

The Oakland A's drafted Rod Beck as a Starting Pitcher in the 13th round (327^th pick) of the 1986 Amateur Draft. In 1989, while with the San Jose Giants of the California League, he posted a record of 11-2 between opening day and June 13^th when he was promoted to the Shreveport Captains of the Double A Texas League. Rod made his Major League debut on May 6, 1991 versus the Montreal Expos. His performance was forgettable, (2.0IP,3H, 2ER), but his season numbers were terrific. He had a 3.78 ERA; pitched 52⅓ innings in 31 games; struck out 38 & walked 13. In 1992, Rod took over as the regular closer from Dave Righetti and posted a record of 3-3 with 17 saves and a 1.76 ERA. He pitched 92 innings over 65 games and struck out 87 while walking only 15.

[edit] September 19^th, 1997

On September 18^th & 19^th, 1997, the Los Angeles Dodgers came to San Francisco to play a two-game series at Candlestick Park. The Dodgers were leading the National League West with a record of 84-67. The Giants were in 2^nd place with a record of 82-69; 2 games behind. [1]The Giants won the first game 2-1 behind lefty Kirk Reuter. In that contest, Barry Bonds hit a two run homer in the 1^st inning for the Giants while Raul Mondesi hit a solo shot in the 5^th for the Dodgers. Beck didn't pitch in the game.

On September 19^th, he came into the game in the top of the 10^th with the score tied 5-5. As the season had progressed, Beck had lost his closer's job to Roberto Hernandez. In fact, Rod had blown a save three days earlier in Atlanta[2] while trying to close that game. He'd given up 4 earned runs in just ⅔ of an inning. Beck got into trouble immediately by giving up consecutive singles to [3] Mike Piazza, Eric Karros & Raul Mondesi. Now, with the bases loaded, nobody out and the crowd booing loudly, manager Dusty Baker came out to talk to Rod as he was obviously struggling.

"Shit", Baker said to pitching coach Dick Pole. "I'm gonna go out and say something."
"You can tell when he wants you", said Beck, "because his eyes are sort of down. He looked at me all the way to the mound, so I knew he was leaving me in."
"I just said, 'Dig as deep as you can with whatever you've learned as a pitcher.' " Baker told Rod. " 'You're the guy.' "[4]

Baker left Shooter in the game. Rod proceeded to strike out Todd Zeile looking at an inside-corner fastball. When he got pinch hitter Eddie Murray to bounce a splitter into an inning-ending double play, the crowd of 52,188 went crazy. Two innings later, Giants' reserve catcher Brian Johnson led off with a home run to left field giving Rod Beck, a 6-5 win. The Giants, now tied with the Dodgers for the division lead, would go on to win the Western Division crown.

[edit] Chicago Cubs

After the 1997 season, the Giants felt Beck's best years were behind him, and allowed him to leave as a free agent to sign with the Chicago Cubs, replacing him with Robb Nen. Beck set a career high in saves in his first season with the Cubs, converting 51 of 58 chances. However, in the 1999 season, Beck struggled mightily, and was dealt by Chicago to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for reliever Mark Guthrie and a player to be named later.

[edit] Boston Red Sox

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Beck pitched well for the Red Sox, although he struggled in the postseason and wasn't as good as he had been in the past in his two full seasons with the team. After the 2001 season, Beck had Tommy John surgery, and floated around in the minors, being signed by the Cubs organization, then traded to San Diego.

[edit] San Diego Padres

In 2003, Beck returned to the Major Leagues with the Padres, filling in for the injured Trevor Hoffman. Rod Beck converted 20 saves in 20 chances, while posting a 1.78 ERA. In 2004, Beck dealt with personal problems during spring training and struggled in a seventh inning role for the Padres. Beck was released by San Diego in August.

[edit] Highlights

• 3-time All-Star (1993-94, 1997)
• Relief Man of the Year (1994)
• Led National League in games (81, 1998)
• 5-time Top Five in saves (1993-95, 1997-98)
• 4-times first in games finished (1993-94, 1997-98)
• His 286 career saves ranks him 21^st All-Time
• Made a successful return to the majors after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October of 2001
• The band Stroke 9 has a song titled "Rod Beck" on their 2004 album "ALL In" which is supposedly sung from the perspective of Rod Beck himself as he deals with his declining talent.

Preceded by Randy Myers

National League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year 1994

Succeeded by Tom Henke

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• BaseballLibrary.com - biography
• USA Today article about Beck's experience with Tommy John surgery