Jim Beauchamp
From BR Bullpen
James Edward Beauchamp
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
- Debut September 22, 1963
- Final Game September 20, 1973
- Born August 21, 1939 in Vinita, OK USA
- Died December 25, 2007 in Union City, GA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Jim Beauchamp is the father of minor league player and manager Kash Beauchamp. He attended Oklahoma State University before being signed by the Cardinals in 1958.
A power hitting minor leaguer, Beauchamp had perhaps the best year of his professional career in 1963 for the Double-A Tulsa Oilers, batting .337 with 31 home runs and 105 RBI. He also collected 35 doubles and 10 triples while scoring 95 runs. He did so well in fact that he won the 1963 Texas League MVP Award. He earned a short call to the Majors in 1963, making his Major League debut on September 22 at the age of 24. The pitcher he faced in his first at-bat - Joe Nuxhall - struck him out. Overall, he went hitless in three Major League at-bats that year.
Although he was a promising prospect in the Cardinals organization, he was traded to the Colt .45s in February of 1964 with Chuck Taylor for outfielder Carl Warwick. Beauchamp again dominated in the minors in 1964, belting 34 home runs and collecting 83 RBI for a .285 batting average. In 23 Major League games that year, he collected only nine hits in 55 at-bats for a .164 batting average.
He started the 1965 season with the Astros, playing in 24 games with them before being traded to the Milwaukee Braves with Ken Johnson for Lee Maye. He played in only four games with the Braves that year. Overall, he hit .179 in 56 at-bats.
Proving to be a minor league star who can't quite cut it in the Majors, Beauchamp hit .319 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI in 115 games for the Richmond Braves in 1966. He didn't appear in the Majors at all that season.
He spent most of the 1967 season in the minors as well, belting 25 home runs and driving in 63 runs for Richmond. He averaged dropped though as he hit only .233. He appeared in four games in the Majors for the Braves that year, collecting no hits in three at-bats.
In October of 1967, Beauchamp was traded with Mack Jones and Jay Ritchie to the Reds for Deron Johnson.
He started the 1968 season in the minors, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 47 RBI for the Indianapolis Indians. He spent 31 games in the Majors that year, hitting .263 in 57 at-bats.
In 1972, he hit two home runs in a game on August 21, his 33rd birthday. The second one came in the bottom of the 9th off Jim Ray to give the New York Mets a win over the Houston Astros. These were Jim's first two homers of the season.
He played his final game on September 20, 1973, almost exactly 10 years after his big league debut.
His main teammates were Tom Seaver, Joe Torre, Pete Rose, Jon Matlack, Rusty Staub, Wayne Garrett, Tony Perez, Lou Brock and Johnny Bench.
Overall, he is statistically most similar to Dee Brown, according to the similarity scores method, as of August, 2007.
The last regular season pitcher Beauchamp ever faced was Jim Rooker. Interestingly, the last pitcher he ever faced, playoffs included, was Ken Holtzman. Holtzman also surrendered Beauchamp's first triple. He collected his final intentional walk and final run off pitcher Ramon Hernandez, but not in the same game. He singled in his final at-bat. He would one day play for the first team he ever faced, the Cincinnati Reds.
He was the Atlanta Braves bench coach for several seasons, spending 1991-1998 on the major league staff. As of 2002, Beauchamp was the Braves minor league outfield coordinator.
He died at the age of 68 on December 25, 2007 after a bout with leukemia. His son, Kash Beauchamp, said: "My dad's motto was to put God first, family second and your job third. If you did that, everything would fall into place and good things would happen. And he lived that."
