Watching Beckett get his 14th win — a tidy affair featuring nine strikeouts and one measly run over 6 and 2/3 innings — got me all nostalgic for younger and even pissier Beckett. So I hopped into the wayback machine to revisit this gem from the Broward-Palm Beach New Times, from 2004:
After pitching a gem at the age of 23 to win the World Series in Yankee Stadium, all Marlins’ ace Josh Beckett seemed to talk about was his plan to kill deer the next day. He rarely smiled, his answers were gruff, and his demeanor said, “This is no big deal for a stud like me.” And all we could think was, “What a spoiled little punk.”
Maybe being a royal jackass is what he needs to make him great on the mound, but when he reaches the peak of the magical mountain of all of sport, could he at least show a touch of grace or gratitude? Nu-uh. And he’s even more unbearable this year, as a March 21 interview session after a spring training game in Fort Myers showed.
A reporter asked him about Fox Sports Network babe Leeann Tweeden, his new girlfriend. “Do I have to listen to the same f#$king questions again?” he said to the reporter, a friend of ours. Then Beckett said, “I have a big d#ck.” The jerk from Texas looked over at veteran outfielder Gerald Williams. “It’s even bigger than Gerald Williams’ d#ck.”
While the writer was obviously annoyed, this is the sort of stuff that, in my mind, only furthers the majesty of Commander Kick Ass of the F#%k Yeah Brigade. And if there isn’t someone working on a DVD collection of Josh Beckett press conferences and interviews, then someone should be. Like, right now.
And thanks to Our Man Matthew for the tip.
