R.I.P. Rod Beck

RIP Shooter.  You gave us your best, and we'll always love you for it.

Story on mlb.com.

It says that the team was told last night.

R.I.P Shooter - one of my favorite Giants.

truly one of my alltime favorites, as a personality as much as a player.  He will be missed.

Do you remember where you where when Shooter took down Murray?  It is one of those moments.  I was pulling weeds as a landscaper with my good friend when we were listening to that game and I fist pumped for Shooter and we both went nutz when BJ hit that homer.

There won't be a moment of silence for Rod Beck.

Everyone make sure to have a nice cold beer for Shooter instead.

As can be told by my screen name, the Shooter was one of my favorite Giants.  He will surely be missed, and I wish his family the best.  A great Giant, a great character, and one of my all time favorites.  Sad news to be sure, RIP.

Many lurkers will come out for this one.  RIP Shooter, you were a class act, and you will be missed.  I raise a can to you.

RIP Rod, too young to die, I feel for his wife and 2 young kids.

We will miss you Shooter. May you rest in peace.

rip shooter

i have no doubt that they will find that acohol contributed greatly to his early demise

it bugs me that baseball is spending so much time on the roids deal, but players like beck were allowed to develop alcohol dependencies with little or no help from baseball management

An odd day of sports for me:  US wins at Mexico...err Chicago, but it wasn't exactly a home crowd; Giants beat Yankees (Schierholtz best hit ball is a line out as his hits are Texas Leaguers); Oregon State is winning (and even as  UO grad, I'm still pulling for 'em); Beck passes.  May he rest in peace.  Whatever inner demons or health problems brought about his passing, we'll remember the fun and good times of him on the mound.  

The first thing I thought after Beck got Joe Carter for the last out of the one-game playoff in 1998 was, "Shit!" The second thing I thought was, "Well, if we had to lose to someone at least it was The Shooter."

Rest in peace, Rod.

This Saddens me to no end.

I'm stunned by emotional I am about this.

Rest in peace, Rod Beck. One of my favorite players ever.

Another lurker surfacing to honor the Shooter -

I remember the '97 game vividly, of course, but I also have fond memories of the stretch drive in '93, when Dusty ran Beck out to the mound game after game and he rose to the challenge every damn time.  During the mid-90's, when the team stunk and we were treated to the pitching stylings of starters like Mark Leiter, Osvaldo Fernandez and William van Landingham, it was a treat to see Shooter come in for one of his infrequent save opportunities - he never bitched, did his job and always had time for the fans afterwards.

RIP, Rod - I'm having a tall, cold one in your honor tonight.

A couple of notes about the '97 game (I was there)

He was throwing 85-87 til Dusty came out after the 3rd single. He threw 92-93 thereafter.

I have never (including everything from Mike Ivie's '78 pinch hit grand slam to the '02 series) been more excited at a ball game--the crowd was still in a deafening frenzy as the Giants came to bat in the bottom of the 10th.

Whoever said the "anti-Benitez" had it right.

RIP

He was a great Giant.

R.I.P. Shooter - what a fun Giant to watch.

I've been searching everywhere for my Giants highlight cd that they gave out at a game a while back just to listen to the clips of '97 game again. I can't seem to find it though.

FYI, did  the team do anything today for him today? He deserves that much, at least.

   So my guardian angel and I went out and I bought a tall Coors Light...and then we went in search of the 5600 block of East Ludlow St.
  Said angel lives approximately one and a half miles down the street from this area (44th St/ T-Bird , for you Googlers) , so it was actually on our way.
   Well , much to my romantic - notioned dismay there is no 5600 block of East Ludlow...however , there IS a 5500 block...across the street...behind the gates. Palatial manses all.
  On a whim , I pulled up to the gatebox and started pushing the "Z" button , and the displayed names began to scroll by...alas , no "Beck"...well , there ARE a few fans out here that would've found it hard to resist saying hello , I'm sure.
(I thought it odd that my earlier search for info actually DID turn up a Cal address , complete with street numbers...a decoy?)
  I DID , however , see a familiar name - and I wonder if "Dessens , E." might have anything to say about the demise of his famous neighbor...
  So I tuned the radio to 680 , stepped out , and toasted a hell of a man who left way too early.

The day before that one-game playoff in 1998, Beck had pitched three innings for the Cubs against the Astros. I don't remember how many pitches he threw, but I vaguely recall something like 55 -- there were a few walks, a few Ks, a few hits, so they were tough innings. The day before that he'd faced five batters in an inning. So when they brought him in, I was jubilant -- I knew his arm was shot, we'd go crazy on him, and win. What was I thinking? I mean, 7 years watching Beck pitch. I should have known that Beck would get the save no matter how tired, injured, hungover, old or ineffective he was. He got the two outs, and as much as those two outs crushed me, those are the outs I'll always remember the most.

The passing of Rod Beck this past Saturday at his home in Phoenix, Arizona was not just the passing of a truly unique baseball talent... But the passing of a truly unique HUMAN BEING.  

Most people know Rod Beck for his nasty split finger, fu manchu, mullet and arm swing.  Maybe they even know about his 286 lifetime saves and sparkling 3.30 ERA.  But that was only the tip of the Shooter iceberg.  He was a man that was beloved by all who came in contact with him.  A generous, kind, giving man with a heart of gold and a flare for a good time.  

Late in his life he abandoned his signature beer can in favor of a Mike's Hard Lemonade bottle, or strawberry daquari.  He claimed it to be a "health drink" if a bannana was added to the blend.  He loved baseball, and would often sit at his home hunching over his pool table looking up and announcing decades old statistics from a baseball encyclopedia.  He had a repect for the game and how it should be played.  

He carried multiple cheese sticks in his pockets in case he might've needed a snack, and would devour anything made of white chocolate.  

He loved to play wiffle ball (he liked hitting much better than pitching) and truly relished a good game of darts, even inventing his own game.

He loved to watch Nick at Nite, and tivoed "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" regularly.  He thought Carlton was "funny as hell."  

He loved his children more than anything, and couldn't help but brag to anyone who would listen about their progress.  

He wanted to take a serious shot at an acting career, having just finished shooting on an independant film called "Work Week", where he played a mean, nasty hit man with a distinct sense of humor that Rod and ONLY Rod could have pulled off.  

He loved his whole family, every one of his friends (even the ones he hadn't met yet) and every team mate he ever had.  He considered Jeff Brantly, and Mark Garce his favorite teammates of all time (with many in the running) and looked at Dusty Baker the utmost respect.  He always said that Dusty "Treated me like a man", and that was all Rod needed to go to war for someone.  He was dissapointed that he never got to be a home player in the Pac Bell park that he campaigned so tirelessly for when he was a Giant.  

Rodney Roy Beck would have been a remarkable person, even if he never picked up a baseball.  He had a contagious good attitude that could make you smile when you were down.  

After retirement, he'd open every piece of fan mail he recieved and read every letter.  He felt so warmed and flattered by the fact that someone would take the time to write him a letter, just to tell him they enjoyed watching him play, or even to ask for an autograph (which he always gave) that he saved every letter.  

All he ever wanted was to not be forgotten and I don't think he EVER will be.  

Rod Beck was my friend, and I will truly miss him as much for the rest of my days, as I do at this very moment as I type with tears welling up in my eyes.  I just wanted to give everyone that might have only seen him play, or met him briefly an insight into the man behing the mustasche.

So let's all tip back a cold Mike's Hard Lemonade, or strawberry daquari for you healthy folks, and give a salute to the Shooter.  Believe me, that's what he would have wanted.

9/22: Save
9/24: Win
9/25: Save
9/26: Closes out Swift's 20th win
9/27: Save
9/28: Save
9/30: Save
10/1: Save
10/2: Save

He was completely running on fumes; he allowed four home runs over these 10 1/3 innings. But he got the job done every time, largely because he didn't walk a single batter in this stretch.

I also remember attending a memorabilia show at the Cow Palace in the mid-nineties. There were dozens of players from different sports there signing for a fee, but the longest line was for the one player signing for free: Rod Beck.

Hi Jints fans. I just posted a remembrance/elegy for Rod Beck on the baseball poetry site www.bardball.com. Come on by and check it out.

Resquiat en pace.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/06/25/SPGRFQL4H51.DTL

Another good eulogy.