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| Did You Know? Closer Rod Beck |
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By Chris Lampe 1/4/2006
 Each week until the season opener against the Visalia Oaks on April 6th, www.sjgiants.com will take a close look at a former major league star whose road to the majors went through San Jose. This week's featured player is former San Francisco closer Rod Beck.
In 1989, the San Jose Giants had one of their greatest starting pitchers ever! He only pitched in 13 games for San Jose, but he was dominating in those starts. He threw four complete games and led the California League in winning percentage with an .846 mark, going 11-2. His ERA was an outstanding 2.40. More remarkable was the fact that this starter defeated every team in the California League by June 13th, when he was called up to Double-A Shreveport. Even today he ranks tied for second on the San Jose Giants all-time list for consecutivewins with nine. He never pitched an inning of relief for San Jose, yet in the years to come he would help to re-write the major league history book for relief pitchers.
In 2005, for the first time in fourteen years, former San Jose Giant, Rod Beck did not pitch in a major league game. Beck leaves a legacy as one of the finest relief pitchers of his generation. Pitching for the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres, he rates 20th on the all-time career saves list with 286.
Only 10 Closers in the history of baseball have recorded 48 Saves or more in a major league season. Rod Beck is one of only four to accomplish this rare feat twice. The other three are storied names: Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, Eric Gagne of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland A's. Beck is the only one who recorded his 48 Saves or more with two different teams. In 1993 he saved 48 games for the San Francisco Giants and in 1998 he saved 51 games with the Chicago Cubs.
From 1993 to 1995, Beck set a major league record by converting 41 consecutive Saves. His record was tied by the San Diego Padres' Trevor Hoffman in 1998 and then broken by the Boston Red Sox' Tom Gordon in 1999 when he saved 54 consecutive games. And of course, the Dodgers' Eric Gagne obliterated the record book when he successfully converted 84 consecutive Saves from 2002 to 2004.
 In 1998 Rod Beck set a major league record when he recorded Saves in six consecutive scheduled games. This record has since been tied by Eric Gagne in 2003.
Only three times in the history of baseball has a Closer converted all of his Save opportunities in a year, with a minimum of 20 Saves. Rod Beck accomplished this milestone twice! He was the first in history to do it when he converted all 28 of his Save opportunities for the San Francisco Giants in the strike shortened season of 1994. The Los Angeles Dodgers' Eric Gagne turned the trick in 2003 when he was a perfect 55 for 55. That same year, with Trevor Hoffman injured, Rod Beck picked up the slack for the San Diego Padres going a perfect 20 for 20!
Rolaids honored Rod Beck in 1994 by naming him with the National League's Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year!
Beck retired with an excellent 3.30 ERA in 704 career games. In addition, he fanned 644 opposing batters while only walking 191 in 768 innings pitched. In 1992, with the San Francisco Giants, Beck fashioned a 1.76 ERA in 92 innings while striking out 87 and issuing only 15 walks.
Known affectionately by his teammates as "The Shooter," Rodney Beck had a breakout year in San Jose and turned it into a fast track pass to major league baseball stardom!
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