Former Cubs second baseman Glenn Beckert dies at age 79

Former Chicago Cubs second baseman Glenn Beckert has passed away at age 79. According to the Associated Press, he died of natural causes on Sunday.

Beckert played for the Chicago Cubs from 1965 to 1973 and then with the San Diego Padres to close out his career from 1974 to 1975. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beckert was a four-time all-star with the Cubs from 1969 to 1972 and led Major League Baseball in runs scored with 98 in 1968. In fact, Beckert was the starting second baseman for the National League in the 1970 and 1971 MLB All-Star Games.

Not known for his power, Beckert only had 22 home runs in 1320 MLB games. However he had a strong batting average, as he had a career average of .283 and an impressive .342 average in 1971. That season, Beckert had 181 hits in 530 at bats. Beckert’s .342 batting average in 1971 was the third highest in the National League. He was only behind Joe Torre of the St. Louis Cardinals (.363) and Ralph Garr of the Atlanta Braves (.343).

In his career, Beckert had 5208 MLB career at bats. In that time he scored 685 runs and had 1473 hits, 196 doubles, 31 triples, 360 runs batted in, 49 stolen bases and 1797 total bases. Another part of Beckert’s game that was impressive from an offensive standpoint is the fact he had a low strikeout rate. He only had 243 strikeouts in 5572 plate appearances.

Defensively, Beckert won a National League gold glove at second base in 1969. That season he only had 19 errors in 155 games.

In response to hearing the death, baseball hall of famer Ferguson Jenkins of Chatham, Ontario, Canada, was heartbroken to hear of Beckert’s death. Jenkins stated Beckert was the best man at his wedding.