Articles appeared a few weeks ago containing quotes from Josh Beckett saying he was retiring. Here is a link to one such article: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/11662731/josh-beckett-los-angeles-dodgers-says-retiring
I was out of the country at the time and was only periodically checking in on SoSH, so I could have missed some comments. But I don't think Beckett's news created much of a ripple here and I doubt many Sox fans thought very much about it.
Assuming I didn't miss it, the lack of a reaction to this news, and the generally negative perception of Sox fans to Beckett, is understandable. Between the 2011 late season meltdown, his role, real or imagined, in chicken and beer, the perception or reality that Beckett allowed himself to get out of shape and didn't maximize his potential, and the shots of him looking like he had just been let out of the seventh level of hell while on the private jet to LA after the Punto Trade, all combine to paint a less than favorable picture of Beckett for many.
In fact, I think a case can be made that Josh Beckett is one of the least beloved Boston stars on a championship team who didn't voluntarily go to the Yankees or another hated rival in recent memory. Really, which former star who played a major role on a Boston title win is less revered than Beckett?
I may be a bit of an outlier on Josh Beckett but I still have incredible appreciation for his place in Red Sox history and he is still way up there in my eyes.
The biggest reason for that is that I am not aware of many starters who, in one full season, put up better regular season and playoff performances, while also being a member of a World Series winner, never mind being one of the biggest contributiors in the post-season. I'm sure there indeed others in that particular conversation, but recall the following about Beckett in 2007:
- He was 20-7 (becoming the first 20 game winner since 2005); while wins don't always reflect greatness, or lack thereof, 20-win seasons are nothing to sneeze at
- His regular season ERA was 3.27
- He was an All Star
- He was second in the Cy Young voting
- His WHIP was 1.14
- He was 4-0 in the post-season
- His performance in game 5 of the ALCS, with the Sox down 3-1, turned that series around in my mind; 11 Ks in 8 innings...dominance
- He also won game 1 of that series and appropriately captured the ALCS MVP
- If they gave out an award for post-season MVP, I think he would have won that too
- He gave up 4 runs in the entire post-season
- He won game 1 of the World Series and, arguably setting an early tone for the series,struck out the side in the first inning
Here are Beckett's career numbers for those so inclined: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/beckejo02.shtml?redir
A few other factors lead to my Beckett love:
- The fact that he lead the Marlins to victory in the clinching game of the 2003 World Series and got the last out against the MFYs. As horrific as the Grady Boner game was, the impact on many of us would have been even worse had the Yankees won that series and Josh Beckett played a prominent role in the outcome. Hell, if the 2003 Yankees had won the World Series, perhaps things would have been different a year later.
- Odd year Beckett while in Boston. Josh was very good in 2009 and 2011 (at least until the end) and was an All Star both times, deservedly.
- On a personal note, one of his quotes after the 2007 WS became a centerpiece of a speech I gave later that fall...yes, this is an extremely small footnote in the overall discussion but it's part of the picture for me.
If you don't like Beckett in light of some of the negatives I mentioned, I doubt the above will change your views much. But I do think history will be kind to Beckett and that with time he will be more appreciated by Sox fans. At least, I hope that's the case.
I was out of the country at the time and was only periodically checking in on SoSH, so I could have missed some comments. But I don't think Beckett's news created much of a ripple here and I doubt many Sox fans thought very much about it.
Assuming I didn't miss it, the lack of a reaction to this news, and the generally negative perception of Sox fans to Beckett, is understandable. Between the 2011 late season meltdown, his role, real or imagined, in chicken and beer, the perception or reality that Beckett allowed himself to get out of shape and didn't maximize his potential, and the shots of him looking like he had just been let out of the seventh level of hell while on the private jet to LA after the Punto Trade, all combine to paint a less than favorable picture of Beckett for many.
In fact, I think a case can be made that Josh Beckett is one of the least beloved Boston stars on a championship team who didn't voluntarily go to the Yankees or another hated rival in recent memory. Really, which former star who played a major role on a Boston title win is less revered than Beckett?
I may be a bit of an outlier on Josh Beckett but I still have incredible appreciation for his place in Red Sox history and he is still way up there in my eyes.
The biggest reason for that is that I am not aware of many starters who, in one full season, put up better regular season and playoff performances, while also being a member of a World Series winner, never mind being one of the biggest contributiors in the post-season. I'm sure there indeed others in that particular conversation, but recall the following about Beckett in 2007:
- He was 20-7 (becoming the first 20 game winner since 2005); while wins don't always reflect greatness, or lack thereof, 20-win seasons are nothing to sneeze at
- His regular season ERA was 3.27
- He was an All Star
- He was second in the Cy Young voting
- His WHIP was 1.14
- He was 4-0 in the post-season
- His performance in game 5 of the ALCS, with the Sox down 3-1, turned that series around in my mind; 11 Ks in 8 innings...dominance
- He also won game 1 of that series and appropriately captured the ALCS MVP
- If they gave out an award for post-season MVP, I think he would have won that too
- He gave up 4 runs in the entire post-season
- He won game 1 of the World Series and, arguably setting an early tone for the series,struck out the side in the first inning
Here are Beckett's career numbers for those so inclined: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/beckejo02.shtml?redir
A few other factors lead to my Beckett love:
- The fact that he lead the Marlins to victory in the clinching game of the 2003 World Series and got the last out against the MFYs. As horrific as the Grady Boner game was, the impact on many of us would have been even worse had the Yankees won that series and Josh Beckett played a prominent role in the outcome. Hell, if the 2003 Yankees had won the World Series, perhaps things would have been different a year later.
- Odd year Beckett while in Boston. Josh was very good in 2009 and 2011 (at least until the end) and was an All Star both times, deservedly.
- On a personal note, one of his quotes after the 2007 WS became a centerpiece of a speech I gave later that fall...yes, this is an extremely small footnote in the overall discussion but it's part of the picture for me.
If you don't like Beckett in light of some of the negatives I mentioned, I doubt the above will change your views much. But I do think history will be kind to Beckett and that with time he will be more appreciated by Sox fans. At least, I hope that's the case.
