Josh Beckett

Before pro-ball
Beckett was born in Spring, TX, a suburb of Houston. He grew up idolizing Roger Clemens and always wanted to be a pitcher in the big leagues. He developed his cocky attitude and fiery competitiveness early in his life. He made a name for himself as a highschool sophmore and by the time he was a senior many scouts were saying he was the top highschool pitcher in the country.

Scouting Report
In his first 4 full years in the big leagues Beckett has landed on the DL 9 times. Most of his injuries have been related to blisters on his pitching hand and he has never reached the 180 IP mark in a season. He has fantastic stuff with a fastball that tops out around 96 and has a lot of movement, a solid change up, and a tight curveball. His control has improved every year that he's been in the majors. He also has no problems pitching inside to hitters. He has the potential to be an ace, but many feel that injuries and the inability to take that next step will limit him as a solid second starter.

Florida Marlins
Beckett fell to the Marlins with the #2 pick in the 1999 draft because Tampa Bay was worried that he was too cocky and had too much of an attitude. Florida was more than happy to take him. After just 199.1 IP in the minor leagues, Beckett debuted for the Marlins in a September call-up in 2001. The big Texan dominated the competition, striking out 24 in 24 innings over 4 starts. He went only 2-2 despite a 1.50 ERA. From that point on it was obvious that Beckett was going to stick in the big leagues. He was a vital member of the 2003 Florida Marlins team that won the World Series and was named the World Series MVP with his heroics against the New York Yankees.

Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are hoping that Beckett can put his injuries behind him and give them a second ace behind Curt Schilling. They acquired him during the off-season in 2005 during a firesale by the Florida Marlins. He spent 4 injury-filled full seasons with the Marlins, but managed to increase the number of games he started every year (21 in 2002 to 23 to 26 to 29 in 2005).

Career Achievemnts

 * Won a World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003
 * Became a household name with a complete game shutout on 3 days rest in game 6 of the 2003 World Series against the New York Yankees
 * Won the World Series MVP in 2003
 * Lead the league in shutouts in 2004 and 2005

Baseball Prospectus

 * Tom Bradley
 * Bob Rush
 * Steve Busby

Baseball Reference

 * Connie Johnson
 * Jake Peavy
 * Mark Prior

Baseball Reference (through age 25)

 * Lynn McGlothen
 * Jack McDowell
 * Jim Lonborg

Transactions

 * June 2, 1999: drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1999 amateur draft
 * November 24, 2005: traded along with Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota from the Florida Marlins to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia

Statistics
Player=Josh Beckett Type=Pitching



Position: Starting Pitcher

Team: Boston Red Sox

Uniform Number: 19

Years in League: 6

Age: 25

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

College: None

Drafted By: Florida Marlins in the 1st round (2nd overall) in 1999

Major League Debut: September 4, 2001

Salary: 4,325,000

Date of Birth: May 15, 1980

Place of Birth: Spring, Texas

Career Highlights: 2003 World Series MVP