As you no doubt have heard by now, MLB reliever Rod Beck passed away on Saturday at age 38.  He saved 286 games for the Giants, Cubs, Red Sox and Padres (good for 21st all-time), was a three-time National League All-Star, and the 1994 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award.  He had a 38-45 career record, and a 3.30 ERA.

Rod Beck is one of eight men to have saved 50 games in a season, having notched 51 for the Cubs in 1998.  (image courtesy of mlbplayers.com)

To his credit, Beck is also remembered as a great character and teammate.  While his love of beer and cigarettes almost certainly contributed to his early death, he did a lot to promote the good health of his sport.  I’m not one to extol the virtues of ESPN, but you should take a couple of minutes to reread the coolest player feature ever posted to their website.  You get a good idea of the kind of ballplayer Beck was, and how important the fans were to him throughout his career.

Between Beck, Hep, and the WWE’s Chris Benoit, all this death is getting me depressed.