Marcus Andre McBeth (born August 23, 1980) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) right-handed

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

who played for the Cincinnati Reds in 2007.

Amateur career

A native of

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Off ...

, McBeth attended Woodruff High School and the University of South Carolina, and in 2000 he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected in the fourth round of the June 2001 Major League Baseball Draft by the Oakland Athletics as a center fielder.

Professional career

McBeth did not produce much with the bat during his first three years of professional baseball; he batted just .233 (205 for 881) with 19

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 111

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. He did, however, show a strong arm and was persuaded to give pitching a shot. Splitting 2005 between Kane County (Single-A), the Arizona A's (Rookie League) and Stockton (Single-A), McBeth posted a 2–2 record and an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 3.62 over 25 appearances (all relief) and 31.1 innings pitched. McBeth started the 2006 season in Stockton as the team's closer. He was not scored upon in eight appearances, while also racking up seven saves. He was immediately promoted to Midland (Double-A), where he saved 25 games, posted an ERA of 2.48 and allowing opposing hitters to a paltry .213 batting average. His success at the Double-A level prompted yet another promotion, to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

. Success was harder to come by at the minors' highest level; in 7.1 innings, he surrendered nine runs and failed to register a single save. Still, McBeth's composite 2006 numbers were impressive: 3–3 record, 3.07 ERA, 32 saves and an opponents' batting average of .198 in innings pitched. In November 2006, McBeth was placed on the A's 40-man roster, preventing him from being chosen by another team via the Rule 5 Draft. In April 2007, McBeth was traded by the A's to the Cincinnati Reds, along with minor league pitcher Ben Jukich, for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Chris Denorfia Christopher Anthony Denorfia (born July 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. He currently serves as the manager for the Hartford Yard Goats, who are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies of Major L ...

. McBeth made his major league debut with the Reds on June 6, 2007, against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Four days later, on June 10 he recorded his first win against AL rival

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. On August 13, 2008, McBeth was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox, and was optioned to their Triple-A team, the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

. On July 31, 2009, McBeth was called up to join the Red Sox bullpen following the trade of

Justin Masterson Justin Daniel Masterson (born March 22, 1985) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. Drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2006 MLB draft from San Diego State University, he made his MLB debut two years later. ...

. He was optioned the following day without making an appearance. In October 2009, McBeth was granted free agency. In 2010, he returned to the Athletics, and appeared in 14 games for the River Cats. He was granted free agency after the 2010 season. McBeth featured a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

that in 2005 was clocked as high as 93 miles per hour. He also features a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. His changeup has improved with the assistance of A's pitching coordinator (and former big-league hurler)

Ron Romanick Ronald James Romanick (born November 6, 1960) is an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He is the minor league pitching coordinator for the New York Mets organization. Romanick played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the C ...

Personal

As of , McBeth lives in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

, and is an area scout for the

Bibliography

''2006 Oakland Athletics Media Guide''. Pg. 387. Produced by the Oakland Athletics Public Relations Department.

References

External links

Scout.com: Prospect Q&A: Marcus McBeth, RP (5/9/06)BaseballAmerica.com: 2006 Player Statistics: Marcus McBeth
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBeth, Marcus 1980 births Living people African-American baseball players Arizona League Athletics players Baseball players from South Carolina Chatham Anglers players Cincinnati Reds players Kane County Cougars players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland RockHounds players Modesto A's players Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Spartanburg, South Carolina Phoenix Desert Dogs players Sacramento River Cats players St. Louis Cardinals scouts South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players Stockton Ports players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Visalia Oaks players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people