Former Red Sox reliever Rod Beck passed away today at the age of 38. He was one of my very favorite baseball characters. Before each pitch he'd swing his arm back and forth like a gorilla. I saw him at Fenway a few times, and tried and tried to find a classic blue Red Sox t-shirt representing him. They had El Guapo t-shirts, but no Rod Becks.
After reading about how during his late-career triple-A run he lived in a trailer parked just beyond the outfield of the Iowa Cubs stadium and welcomed fans into his home for a beer after the game, I timed my visit to New Orleans based around when I might get to see him pitch. The night before I got there the Padres had picked up his contract, so I had tickets to 2 nights worth of New Orleans Zephyrs games but no luck on meeting Beck.
In the Crowding The Plate Red Sox Cookbook produced by the Red Sox wives, Beck offered his favorite recipe — Fleisch Kuechle or Deep Fried Hamburgers. If anyone's willing to give it a try I'll transcribe it here.
The Shooter will be missed.
They're saying cause of death is unknown…maybe investigators shoudl eb alerted to the Red Sox cookbook for a clue.