Cubs lamentan la partida del ex 2B Glenn Beckert
CHICAGO – Los Cachorros de Chicago lamentan el sensible fallecimiento del ex infielder Glenn Beckert. Beckert pasó a mejor vida la mañana del domingo en la Florida a la edad de 79 años.
El club emitió el siguiente comunicado en memoria de Beckert:
“Glenn Beckert fue una persona maravillosa y un excelente jugador. Fue un fijo en la segunda base para los Cachorros por nueve temporadas de 1965 a 1973, fue convocado al Juego de Estrellas en cuatro ocasiones y se caracterizó por ser uno de los outs más difíciles en la liga gracias a su bajo promedio de ponches. Glenn se adjudicó el Guante de Oro por su excelencia defensiva en la intermedia en 1968.
Ofrecemos nuestro más sentido pésame a las hijas de Glenn, Tracy Seaman y Dana Starck, a su compañera de muchos años Marybruce Standley y a sus tantos amigos”.
Beckert tuvo promedio de por vida de .283 en 11 campañas en Grandes Ligas por los Cachorros (1965-1973) y Padres de San Diego (1974-75). Encabezó la Liga Nacional cinco veces con la menor tasa de ponches y finalizó de tercero en la liga en promedio de bateo con una marca personal de .342 en 1971.
During the Cubs portion of Beckert's 11-year Major League career, he averaged 597 plate appearances and just 26 strikeouts per season. Beckert hit .283 with 194 doubles and 353 RBIs in his 1,247 games with Chicago, ending that near-decade with the Cubs with 248 walks compared to only 235 strikeouts.
Beckert was named his four All-Star teams consecutively from 1965-73 and picked up his Gold Glove in '68, when he finished ninth in balloting for the NL MVP Award. In that '68 season, which was known as the Year of the Pitcher, Beckert led the Majors with 98 runs scored. He also compiled a 27-game hitting streak, which remains tied for the third-longest mark in club history.
On Aug. 19, 1969, Beckert gloved a grounder off the bat of legend Hank Aaron and fired it to first base to record the final out of lefty Ken Holtzman's no-hitter against the Braves.
The Cubs selected Beckert in the 1962 Minor League Draft from the Red Sox and he made the transition to second base with ease, following years at shortstop and third at both the pro and amateur levels. He was born on Oct. 12, 1940, in Pittsburgh, where Beckert attended Perry High School. He later played for Allegheny College in Pennsylvania before turning pro.
"I like everything about that kid Beckert," former Cubs manager Leo Durocher said in a Chicago Sun-Times article in December of 1965. "He’s got a fine chance to be one of the front-line stars in the game. He has good hands, a strong arm, and he gives the pitcher a real battle."
Soon, Beckert had a home in the Cubs' infield, alongside franchise icons like Ernie Banks and Ron Santo.
Beckert was a fixture at second into the early 70s, emerging as a batting title contender in '71. That summer, Beckert hit at a .342 up until a hand injury ended his season in early September. He finished third in the NL batting race behind Joe Torre and Ralph Garr. Right behind Beckert were Roberto Clemente and Aaron.
Following a long run with the Cubs, the team dealt Beckert to the Padres for outfielder Jerry Morales ahead of the 1974 campaign. Beckert had a pair of injury-marred seasons in San Diego before calling it a career. And while Beckert did not rise to the level of Hall of Famer, he will forever be remembered fondly for his stellar career with the Cubs.
"I wouldn't trade it for anything," Beckert wrote book, 'Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Chicago Cubs,' by Carrie Muskat. "I got to meet a lot of wonderful people. I belong to one of the nicest fraternities, playing in the Major Leagues.
"I'm not boasting or anything, but you talk and people sayd, 'You played in the big leagues?' It's good for an old guy's ego."