Gordon Beckham Profile

You all know the story here. Eight overall draft pick in 2008, garnering praise about as high as they come, Gordon Beckham became Alexei Ramirez’s partner-of-the-future in your new and improved Chicago White Sox middle infield. The Sox did not wait very long to give him a shot, and that seemed to be the right decision at the time. After flourishing in his rookie year, Beckham was expected to be an elite hitter on the south side of Chicago for many years to come. All that pressure led to a .252 BA in 2010 and a .230 BA in 2011. Sox fans have been growing more concerned with the Atlanta native throughout the last 2 years. He’s struggled to have much of any success over a decent period of time since the 2nd half of 2010, when, it should be noted, there was not much pressure to perform.
Every year, we see articles posted and quotes flow out about how Beckham is planning to take a step back and not get caught up in the fame and praise that he has had in Chicago, and just get back to baseball. Which is indeed the case for this season yet again. However, something is a bit different this time. This is his last chance. Say he plays most of the year but does not overcome mediocrity…I see no chance that he gets the nod in another Opening Day roster. You simply cannot go into a 4th year with a youngster making your judgment solely on potential. This is the year he has to show us what he’s got. And I do think he can do it.

When someone is scuffling, a manager can do one of two things: push them even harder or try to take most of the pressure off. Beckham has had his time to relax comfortably in the bottom of the order, I say it is time to kick it up a notch on him. He clearly looks like a number 2 hitter for this ball club if he hits like he did in ’09, so why not put him there? It sends the following message: “you’re here to be a part of the future, more specifically fulfilling this role in the order. Now go do your job!” Like I said, I think it is certainly his last shot. And as a last ditch effort, it may just work. Taking the conservative route hasn’t been successful, so I don’t see why some think it would suddenly start to work now. And finally, there’s an X-factor to the Gordon Beckham situation in 2012: Robin Ventura.
Gordon Beckham is a laid back, country boy who would seem to fit in with the slow-motion, backyard sports Levi’s Jeans commercials. Ozzie Guillen simply would not be asked to help out that marketing campaign; their styles clash. However, new White Sox manager Robin Ventura is laid back most of the time and is only loud and assertive when he has to be. He was a very solid defensive infielder throughout his career and was pretty consistent at the plate, as well. He didn’t hit tons of home runs, he was the type of  hitter that you wanted to fill up the gap…exactly the same as Beckham. There’s a chance that Ventura can find the secret to bringing out Gordon’s full potential. If he could raise his BA about  40-points (which would be about .270), slug around 15 home runs, he still would not be living up to his full potential. However, that would be a huge boost for Beckham and would definitely re-secure his spot right where he belongs, hitting in the heart of the order and playing 2nd base for your Chicago White Sox. And as far as my prediction, I’m not extremely confident in saying this, but I am confident that Ventura will help him grow throughout the next 158 games.