Rod Beck dies
Rod Beck, an All-Star relief pitcher who wore a bushy mustache while earning 286 career saves, has died. He was 38.
Beck was found Saturday by police officers responding to a call to his home in suburban Phoenix, police department spokesman Andy Hill said Sunday. Foul play is not suspected, though the cause of death might not be known for several days.
With unruly hair framing a menacing stare and an aggressive arm swing before delivering a pitch, the outgoing right-hander was a colorful baseball personality and a three-time All-Star.
While working his way back to the majors in 2003, Beck pitched for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and lived in his Winnebago parked just beyond the outfield fence. Fans would drop by for autographs and stay for a beer, and Beck became a folk hero. Then the Padres called.
Aurilia recalled being wary of Beck's mustache and mullet when he came up as a rookie in 1995 -- but Beck was among the first to congratulate Aurilia on making the team.
Beck saved 51 games for Chicago in 1998, helping the Cubs win the NL wild card. He had a career record of 38-45 in 704 games, with a 3.30 ERA.
"He was helpful to everybody," said Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year. "Always in a good mood, great teammate, great person. He had the closer mentality. He had a short memory. Every day he came in, he was obviously excited to be there and you could see it."
After games, Beck and several Cubs teammates would often sit around drinking beer and smoking cigarettes as they talked baseball.
"You don't see that anymore," Wood said. "Really haven't seen a whole lot of it since he left. That's part of the old-school mentality. You hang around and you have a few beers and talk about the game and talk about mistakes you made, talk about good things you did and learn from each other."
(jaxvid) "old school" meaning "white guys", kinda hard to sit around talking about the game when your teamates don't speak English and hate you to the point of fighting with you!!
"Shooter was a hard nosed, blue-collar kind of guy that wore his heart on his sleeve, and that is what made him so endearing to baseball fans everywhere," said Rick Thurman, Beck's longtime agent.
"He was the utmost professional whose love for the game was only overshadowed by his passion for his family. Rod was the guy who you wanted in the foxhole with you, a warrior on the field and a teddy bear at home."
Beck is survived by his wife, Stacey, and two children.
