Today in sporting history

The late Rod "Shooter" Beck would have turned 40 today. Beck is 24th on the all-time saves list, saving 286 games for the Giants, Cubs, Red Sox and Padres between 1991 and 2004, and is tied for the eighth-most in a single season, nailing down 51 saves for San Francisco in 1998. Beck was a three-time All-Star, and won the National League's Rolaids Relief Man award in The Season With No Champion. He remains the Giants' all-time saves leader.

Beck was well-known for his electric stuff, his ridiculous Fu Manchu mustache, his long, flowing locks, and his death by cocaine overdose in 2007, at age 38. He was by all accounts a nice guy and a good teammate, but had struggled with the white powder since at least 2004, when he abruptly left the Padres in midseason to enter a rehabilitation program.

And he was against the designated hitter rule, which earns him my admiration. Growing up in Southern California, he followed the Dodgers, but didn't watch the Angels, due to his opposition to the DH. Lifted from his Baseball Library page:

"If there's an American League game on TV, I'll turn it on mute and play pool," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in 1999. "I didn't like the American League going to the designated hitter. I always wanted to be a pitcher, but I wanted to hit, too."

Rest in peace, Rod Beck. Wherever you are, I hope you're having a happy birthday.