Titans’ Beck Made a First-Rate Move

Chris Beck used to seethe after an unsuccessful at-bat last season.

“I was really hard on myself,” said Beck, Cal State Fullerton’s first baseman. “I’d go into the dugout and throw things sometimes. I’m a perfectionist, but I had to learn that baseball is a tough game. You can’t get a hit every time.”

A change of attitude and a new position seem to have worked wonders. Beck, who last season worried about his place in the lineup competing with other outfielders, has starred at first base this season. More relaxed about his role on the team, his offensive production has improved.

His .421 batting average leads the Titans (43-9), who are heading into their final regular-season series against Long Beach State tonight through Sunday at Titan Field. He’s second in batting in the Big West Conference behind Nevada’s Lyle Overbay (.438), and is 33rd nationally.

Mark Kotsay set the school record for average, hitting .422 in 1995. The Titans won the College World Series that season and Kotsay won the Golden Spikes award as player of the year. Kotsay, now the Florida Marlins’ right fielder, batted .402 the next season as a junior.

Beck, a junior, hit .361 last season, but wasn’t in the lineup regularly.

“Last year, we had seven or eight outfielders who probably could have started almost anyplace else in the country,” he said. “I got off to a slow start and was looking over my shoulder because I knew the quality of hitters we had on the bench. I was scared to make a mistake, and it’s hard to be successful that way.”

Titan Coach George Horton said Beck also seemed to be riding an emotional roller coaster at times last season.

“Those ups and downs seemed to make him perform that way physically, and he never realized his potential last season,” Horton said. “This season, he is doing that, and we think he’s become of the best hitters in college baseball.”

Horton moved Beck from the outfield to first base during fall workouts.

“He’s been incredible at first base,” third baseman Ryan Owens said. “He’s one of the best at first I’ve played with. He catches everything. He’s been one of the catalysts on this team on defense as well as on offense.”

Beck has only six errors, with 434 putouts and 46 assists.

Titan assistant coach Rick Vanderhook thinks the move to first might be a factor in Beck becoming a more consistent hitter.

“Maybe he doesn’t think about his at-bats as much because he has more to think about by playing on the infield,” Vanderhook said. “All I know is that he’s been great at first base, and he’s hitting with more consistency.”

Beck said he felt comfortable quickly at first base, though he had never before played the position. Beck played second and third base for a while as a freshman at El Dorado High, but played in the outfield his last three years there.

“I was a little nervous in the first couple of games at first, but I was fine after that,” he said.

Beck--6-foot-2, 215 pounds and right-handed--is not the prototype power-hitting No. 4 batter in the order, but Horton likes him in that spot.

Beck is fifth on the team in home runs with five, well behind Owens’ team-leading 15, but he leads the Titans in stolen bases with 27 in 33 attempts. Spencer Oborn is the RBI leader with 78, but Beck and Owens are tied for second, each with 64. “The power is there, but Beck just hasn’t hit a lot of home runs,” Vanderhook said. “He hits a lot to the opposite field, and most of the homers he has hit have gone that way. He definitely has more power potential than what his stats show.”

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Titans’ Hit Parade

The top one-season batting averages in Cal State Fullerton baseball history (active players in bold):

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1. Mark Kotsay 1995 .422 2. Chris Beck 1999 .421 3. Sam Favata 1979 .419 4. Shane Turner 1985 .406 4. Spencer Oborn 1999 .406 6. Mark Kotsay 1996 .402 6. Phil Nevin 1992 .402 8. Brian David 1980 .398 9. Jeremy Giambi 1996 .396 10. Tim Wallach 1978 .394

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