A native of Pittsburgh, Beckert signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1962. Later that year, the Cubs picked Beckert in the first minor league draft. The Cubs brought Beckert up to the big league club in 1965. Beckert was moved to second base. Ken Hubbs, the NL Rookie of the Year, had been killed in a plane crash prior to the 1964 season and Joey Amalfitano was not up to the task.
But Beckert would excel and find a great double play partner in Don Kessinger. Soon the Cubs would contend under the tutelage of Leo Durocher. While the Cubs would never reach the postseason under Durocher between 1967 and 1972 the team finished in either second or third (notwithstanding their collapse in 1969). This period coincided with the peak of Beckert's career. In 1968, Beckert won a Gold Glove and led the NL with 98 runs scored. Beckert was named to four consecutive NL All-Star Teams between 1969 to 1972. In 1971, Beckert finished third in the NL in batting with a .342 average. Beckert was also extremely tough to strikeout. Five times in his career, Beckert led the NL in this category. After striking out 52 times in his rookie season of 1965, he only struck out more than 30 times in his career once. For his career, Beckert only struck once for every 21.43 at bats. This is 91st on the on all-time MLB list just ahead of Tony Gwynn and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.
Prior to the 1974 season, the Cubs traded Beckert to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Jerry Morales. Beckert's tenure in San Diego was spent as a bench player before being released early in the 1975 season. In 11 big league seasons, Beckert collected 1473 hits, had a lifetime batting average of .283 with 22 HR and 360 RBI while striking out only 243 times in 5208 at bats. How many contemporary batters can boast of that level of contact?
I leave you with a short interview with Beckert. R.I.P.
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