SPORTS EDITOR'S NOTE: To sum up the baseball career of former Prairie Grove and Razorback pitcher Jalen Beeks, who is now playing Triple A baseball in the Boston Red Sox organization, requires examining all three levels. In this article, the ENTERPRISE-LEADER looks at Beeks' collegiate experience based on his public Twitter account.
PRAIRIE GROVE -- While transferring from Crowder College, of Neosho, Mo., after his freshman year to the University of Arkansas an advisor asked Beeks, "Sir, what's your major?"
Beeks hesitated, then answered, "Me? Uhh...Baseball."
That was vintage Beeks, who kept his focus on baseball throughout college.
After graduating from Prairie Grove in 2011 there weren't a lot of baseball scholarship offers on the table although Beeks' high school coach, former Tiger skipper Mitch Cameron, now head baseball coach at 7A Rogers Heritage, did his best to point out Beeks' tools as a pitcher.
Cameron called a friend in the college coaching ranks at the University of Central Arkansas, at Conway, trying to get them to notice Beeks. Cameron informed UCA he had a kid, who was only 5-feet-9, but with hands the size of a major league pitcher.
"He's young, the kid's going to be good," Cameron said. "But they didn't take a chance on him."
Crowder College
Beeks went north to Crowder. By the spring of his freshman year he was feeling pressure imposed upon a scholarship athlete. Beeks observed, "Baseball was so simple when you were young."
At Crowder, he compiled a 6-3 record, 3.32 ERA with 1 save while working 78.2 innings and recording 90 strikeouts in 19 appearances.
If baseball was going to be his career path, he was going to have to consistently choose baseball as a priority over other activities. He noted, "Consequences of Baseball, 1. No time for friends, 2. Girls get mad because you can't talk all day, 3. Baseball determines my mood, 4. Nobody understands."
Lecture Hall Debates
After one season in the "Show-Me State," Beeks transferred to the University of Arkansas. He moved to Fayetteville, and began dealing with the logistics of college life, lamenting he had to check out a new apartment to see how much furniture they didn't have.
As the 2012 fall semester began a scene depicted in the movie God's not Dead materialized as a debate in his history class turned into yelling and a girl stomping out of the classroom. A Razorback baseball teammate tried to argue with a professor about insurance costs. The professor terminated the conversation with, "I work for an insurance company."
Baseball Election Analogy
The 2012 presidential, federal, state and local election results perplexed many while others rejoiced. From the university campus, Beeks echoed the frustration some voters felt after going to the ballot box.
"I feel like I just threw a fastball down the middle and the umpire called it a ball," Beeks posted a re-tweet.
As Christmas neared Beeks cleared hurdles only to discover a paradox.
"So this is the first night in a week where I don't have to stay up late and study for a test. Yet here I am, can't sleep."
Razorbacks No. 1
On Dec. 20, 2012, Beeks celebrated as the Razorbacks opened the season as the nation's top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
He laughed over a potential third date question posted by Southpaw Swag, "What stadium do you want to get married in?"
There were occasional holiday break antics with college pitchers daring one another or themselves. Could they throw a baseball the length of the hallway without hitting the walls or the ceiling?
In the latter part of January, Beeks posted an evaluation of professional golf.
"I love watching Phil Mickelson play because he takes so many risks. Gotta risk it to get the biscuit."
Fan Support
On Feb. 16, 2013, he acknowledged fan support with a simple statement, "Just wanted to say thank you for all the messages and tweets!!!! Feels great to finally be a hog!!"
On March 12, 2013, Beeks recognized a high school classmate from Prairie Grove's Class of 2011 cheering him on in a Razorback uniform. He couldn't help, but rejoice.
"(I) saw Kendra Coyle in the stands today!!! That made me smile."
The rest is history.
As a sophomore Beeks appeared in a team-high 29 games as a reliever, allowing only 10 runs and compiling a 6-2 record with a 2.20 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Beeks allowed less than a hit per inning, giving up 33 hits in 41 innings. Beeks ranked tied for 15th in the SEC in wins and tied for 12th in appearances. In conference games, Beeks produced a 3-1 record with a 1.83 ERA and held SEC opponents to a .156 batting average.
In his junior season at Arkansas, Beeks' continued to lower his ERA, establishing a 1.98 ERA in 81 innings pitched, going 6-4 with 81 strikeouts.
Beeks was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2014 and is currently a starting pitcher for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's Triple-A affiliate.
Sports on 08/16/2017