Josh Beckett announces retirement

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

I'm wondering if we may see him in 2 years. The link says he is not scheduled for surgery until May, and that the rehab is 4 months. I guess if he was hell bent on continuing to play, he could/would get the surgery done sooner.

 
I wouldn't be surprised.  Based on the way he came into camp sometimes, I sort of get the sense that he may not be a baseball 24-7 kind of guy, and he likes some time off.  He's been playing or rehabbing in that cycle, and so this makes sense to me.
 
I really loved Beckett on the team.  Nobody pulled off pissed off like Beckett.  
 
I predict he's going to get very fat. 

 

[SawxSince67]

He has a 7000 acre ranch in S Texas. He likes to hunt. He made a few bucks. He'll have a good life.

http://www.herraduraranch.com/meet-josh-beckett/

 

[mauf]

He has a 7000 acre ranch in S Texas. He likes to hunt. He made a few bucks. He'll have a good life.

http://www.herraduraranch.com/meet-josh-beckett/

 
 
I love misplaced modifiers. I'm such a nerd.
 

Enjoy a glass of wine or fine cigar after a day of hunting on the front porch of the Ranch.

 

[SumnerH]

 
 
I love misplaced modifiers. I'm such a nerd.
 

 
To be fair, it's a really big porch.

 

[Sampo Gida]

I'm wondering if we may see him in 2 years. The link says he is not scheduled for surgery until May, and that the rehab is 4 months. I guess if he was hell bent on continuing to play, he could/would get the surgery done sooner.
 
If he feels good next fall, he'd probably be a good candidate to do an Eck/Smoltz renaissance in the bullpen at age 36 in 2016.
 
Or maybe golf and chicken are too good to pass up.

 
Everyone reacts to retirement differently.  If he finds it is not for him, he might try a comeback.  Pitched pretty well this year before shutting it down,  I could see him in the bullpen as a closer if he really wants it.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

In the trivia department, the night the Indians brought in his ex to sing, they said she was a last minute fill in for then mostly unknown Taylor Swift.

 

[threecy]

 
Everyone reacts to retirement differently.  If he finds it is not for him, he might try a comeback.  Pitched pretty well this year before shutting it down,  I could see him in the bullpen as a closer if he really wants it.

An interesting point...might it be interesting to have a comeback if you had previously retired while still playing well, rather than playing through whatever the issue and putting up bad numbers?  Could certainly be the difference between getting a nice one year MLB deal vs. just a spring training invite.

 

[Rudy's Curve]

This.
 
Four starts, 30 innings, four runs, 35 strikeouts, two walks. Thirty-five to two. Josh Beckett should be remembered as a goddamn legend around these parts.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ODTM3D6RI

 

[rembrat]

What's cool about Beckett's 07 is that Schill saw that year coming early on like in Spring Training. I don't have quotes but I remember Schill basically saying "look out for this dude, he's going to have a monster year." Then Josh went on to win 9 out of his first 11 games.

 

[TSC]

In the trivia department, the night the Indians brought in his ex to sing, they said she was a last minute fill in for then mostly unknown Taylor Swift.

 
Taylor Swift was not "mostly unknown" by the 2007 playoffs. At that point she had already had 3 singles released and charting on the Billboard Top 100, and she had already given me approximately 121 guilty boners.

 

[LeoCarrillo]

A less obvious achievement, but one I particularly enjoyed was Beckett beating Sabathia three times in the 2011 season's first couple months. 
 
April 10, Sox win 4-0 as Beckett goes 8.0 with 0 runs, 2 hits and 10Ks. (Sabathia gave up 1 run in 5.2 innings)
May 14, Sox win 6-0 as Beckett goes 6.0 with 0 runs, 4 hits and 9Ks. (Sabathia gets roughed up in the Bronx for 6 runs in 6.2)
June 9, Sox win 8-3 as Beckett goes 7.0 with 2 runs, 4 hits and 6 Ks. (Sabathia again touched for 6 runs in 6.2)
 
This was a couple years after the Yankees bought one in 2009 and were in the ALCS in 2010 and the vibe around NYC was that the regular season was just warm-up for the MFY because they had this unbeatable colossus for the postseason in CC. However, they'd just been spurned by Cliff Lee that winter and went into 2011 with some question marks in the rotation with Colon, Garcia and AJ Burnett coming off a lousy 2010. The Yankee fan hubris was very much supported on the foundation of Sabathia being a monster. At least a couple of these games were national TV. And taking down Sabathia a rung three times right out of the gates cut that pompous team-of-destiny shit in half and planted seeds of doubt for the whole season. 
 
This was much-appreciated "go fuck yourself" stuff from Beckett. 

 

[trekfan55]

Sox didn't win that series, but after the amazing comeback of Game 5, 2008 ALCS, Beckett pitched an amazing game 6 in Tampa Bay and he was hurt.  Schilling said somewhere that Beckett's performance in that game was similar to his in 2004 (please don't kill me, I cannot find that quote).
 
Garza stymied the Sox in Game 7 the next day though.

 

[Sprowl]

Beckett at his best
 

 
 
and his worst     

 
was always memorable. Getting rid of him was as important for 2013 as bringing him in was for 2007.

 

[MakMan44]

 
I believe this might be the picture you meant to post after "worst" Sprowl. 
 
EDIT: Swing and a miss. 

 

[DanoooME]

I've been a big fan all the way back to his AA debut in Portland (when they were a Marlins affiliate) in 2001.  A friend and I had seats a half dozen rows behind home plate for that one.  First pitch came in and I said, "Well, that sounded like a strike".  He went 4 no hit innings before hitting his pitch limit.  The only batter to reach was some poor guy who got drilled in the arm with a Beckett fastball.  The guy went down to first but was removed from the game before he went out for defense the next inning.
 
I followed his career from there and was ecstatic that he was traded to the Red Sox.  I still have his #19 jersey (which conveniently recycled into a Koji jersey these last couple of years).
 
Good luck big fella, you were a hell of a pitching stud.

 

[tomdeplonty]

Sox didn't win that series, but after the amazing comeback of Game 5, 2008 ALCS, Beckett pitched an amazing game 6 in Tampa Bay and he was hurt.  Schilling said somewhere that Beckett's performance in that game was similar to his in 2004 (please don't kill me, I cannot find that quote).
 
Garza stymied the Sox in Game 7 the next day though.

 
Game 6 was also the game that us yelling at the TV, because the broadcast didn't start until the first inning was almost over.

 

[Late Yclept Chanticleer]

The Steve Harvey show right?

Yup, Steve Harvey. I'd forgotten about that completely. What a horrible several minutes.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_on_TBS#Technical_difficulties_and_other_graphical_miscues

 

[chrisfont9]

I have a Beckett tee shirt around someplace. He's basically Lucic with a fastball. If you don't love him, fine. But he was SOOO badass in 2007. And I find the notion that the whole experience of that year is "underappreciated" kind of silly. Who doesn't appreciate it?

 

[Sprowl]

I have a Beckett tee shirt around someplace. He's basically Lucic with a fastball. If you don't love him, fine. But he was SOOO badass in 2007. And I find the notion that the whole experience of that year is "underappreciated" kind of silly. Who doesn't appreciate it?

 
I appreciate 2007 off the charts. Because of job demands in 2004, I was working 24-7 and missed the despatch of the MFYs entirely. Surrounded by a bunch of uncomprehending Canadians, I barely caught the Foulke-to-Minky between the Red Lunar Eclipse and the drive home from Langley. It was a great relief, but not one I had the chance to share.
 
2007 in the sandbox was, and probably always will be, my peak Red Sox experience. I don't think that Game 7 over the Indians could possibly have been more satisfying.

 

[Hyde Park Factor]

Yup, Steve Harvey. I'd forgotten about that completely. What a horrible several minutes.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_on_TBS#Technical_difficulties_and_other_graphical_miscues

Which was worse: missing the game or suffering through Steve Harvey?

 

[TheoShmeo]

I have a Beckett tee shirt around someplace. He's basically Lucic with a fastball. If you don't love him, fine. But he was SOOO badass in 2007. And I find the notion that the whole experience of that year is "underappreciated" kind of silly. Who doesn't appreciate it?

I can't make an empirical case on this, of course, but the reaction of many Sox fans to Beckett (and of course not just that season) seems to be relatively muted or even negative in some cases in my experience.  The reasons for that are understandable, as I mentioned in the thread I posted on the main board.  Again, I have an extremely positive view on him and think 2007 was a rare achievement for a starter all around.

 

[Van Everyman]

I've never totally been able to figure out what he's saying here. "Fuck you, Cruz"?

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

I've never totally been able to figure out what he's saying here. "Fuck you, Cruz"?

that is what was reported I think.

I saw "Hey, fucking die""

 

[TSC]

I do believe it to be - "get outta here, fucking cunt."

 

[rembrat]

TSC has it right. Our boy Beckett had perfect diction. 

 

[Late Yclept Chanticleer]

Which was worse: missing the game or suffering through Steve Harvey?

 
Can't it be both?

 

[LeoCarrillo]

I do believe it to be - "get outta here, fucking cunt."

So, if we were blackboarding this for fifth-graders, it'd be one of those sentences with the (You) in parentheses.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

It was more like "geddouttaereya fuckincunt!"
 
That's my gif, btw.

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Game 1 of the 2007 WS was just as fine a performance, and on an even grander stage.  7IP, 6H, 1ER, 1BB, 9 Ks.  By the time he left, the game was literally Gagne-proof.  Struck out the side in the top of the 1st in the 1st game of the World Series - that's setting the tone.  The Rockies didn't need to "ask fuckin' Francis" who he was.

This was the first playoff game I ever saw in person and man was it an incredible night. Everyone in the stadium, including the Rockies fans sitting in front of me, knew that game was over before the Sox came to bat for the first time. Pedroia's home run was just the exclamation point.

I've been to Fenway a bunch, but never before and not anytime since have I felt as much energy there as I did when he threw that first pitch.

I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for him.

 

[Van Everyman]

I've never totally been able to figure out what he's saying here. "Fuck you, Cruz"?

that is what was reported I think.

I saw "Hey, fucking die""

I do believe it to be - "get outta here, fucking cunt."

TSC has it right. Our boy Beckett had perfect diction. 

It was more like "geddouttaereya fuckincunt!"
 
That's my gif, btw.

Your earnest replies disappoint me:

 

[HillysLastWalk]

This.
 
Four starts, 30 innings, four runs, 35 strikeouts, two walks. Thirty-five to two. Josh Beckett should be remembered as a goddamn legend around these parts.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ODTM3D6RI

 
LOL to that video.  That 11th strikeout was wicked. Or the fourth strikeout to Sizemore ... just unfair really.  Or the Gutierrez (sp?) K for #6 - 97 with movement.  Sick.  And painting with it for #7.
 
I could run that on a loop and watch for hours.

 

[Hyde Park Factor]

 
Can't it be both?

Sometimes it's hard to pick a winner, I know.

 

[Al Zarilla]

 
LOL to that video.  That 11th strikeout was wicked. Or the fourth strikeout to Sizemore ... just unfair really.  Or the Gutierrez (sp?) K for #6 - 97 with movement.  Sick.  And painting with it for #7.
 
I could run that on a loop and watch for hours.

I like his expression walking off the mound after third outs, like he's thinking "yeah, these assholes think they can hit me". 

 

[fletcherpost]

I really liked Beckett. He struck me as a guy who would steam in to help you if you got in a fight and would ask questions later. A good guy to have around. After winning it all in 2004 that might have been it for the Red Sox, but 2007 was like the cherry on top of the cake and Beckett deserves so much credit for that. And...often times when he was pitching someone would post a pic of my favourite playwright in the game threads, which made me very happy to contemplate the possiblity of Josh working his way though Krapp's Last Tape or Endgame...and saying 'what the fuck is this shit, where's my gatorade?'

 

[donutogre]

This.
 
Four starts, 30 innings, four runs, 35 strikeouts, two walks. Thirty-five to two. Josh Beckett should be remembered as a goddamn legend around these parts.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ODTM3D6RI

 
Thanks for posting this. 2007 made me a huge Beckett fanboy — he was really incredible that year, and he had some other damn good years too. I know why people hate, but I don't get it. Anyone who came up that big for the Sox on the way to a World Series victory gets a pass for life as far as I'm concerned.
 
That video shows just why he was so frustrating though. When his stuff was on, he was nigh-unhittable. 97 with movement, that sick curveball, a 90mph changeup dropping way out of the zone? Just gorgeous to watch. Of course, when he wasn't on, it could get real ugly. But for that October, every single thing was working for him and it was just a joy to watch.

 

[phrenile]

That video shows just why he was so frustrating though. When his stuff was on, he was nigh-unhittable. 97 with movement, that sick curveball, a 90mph changeup dropping way out of the zone?

The changeup that dropped out of the zone for #5 was 79 mph.  :blink:

 

[rembrat]

Really? I vaguely remember Beckett having a ridiculously fast change up during his great years. I thought it only dropped to 79 as he lost velocity.

 

[gryoung]

He left town under a cloud for sure, and was a pain-in-the-ass while he was here.  But he was a bona fide stud in his prime.  He loved the big stage, had the necessary attitude for a #1 starter, and had a distain for the media (he can't be all bad then can he?).  Surly, sometimes detached .......but you had to like his "these assholes can't hit me" attitude.

 

[Late Yclept Chanticleer]

He left town under a cloud for sure, and was a pain-in-the-ass while he was here.  But he was a bona fide stud in his prime.  He loved the big stage, had the necessary attitude for a #1 starter, and had a distain for the media (he can't be all bad then can he?).  Surly, sometimes detached .......but you had to like his "these assholes can't hit me" attitude.

Beckett can't afford a color TV?

 

[trekfan55]

I loved this guy:
 

 
It's too bad he left under a dark cloud. 

 

[Sprowl]

The changeup that dropped out of the zone for #5 was 79 mph.  :blink:

Really? I vaguely remember Beckett having a ridiculously fast change up during his great years. I thought it only dropped to 79 as he lost velocity.

#5 is a curve, although the camera angle disguises how sharply it bends. -- pretty much everything that Beckett threw slower than 84 was a curve. The changeup for the strikeout on #4 is his usual 89-90 changeup.