Richard Godhard "Rich" Becker (born February 1, 1972) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 ...

. He played in

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) for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Career

Born in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, af ...

, Becker was selected in the third round of the 1990 MLB draft out of

West Aurora High School West Aurora High School, or WAHS, is a public four-year high school located in Aurora, Illinois. It is part of West Aurora Public School District 129. The school is also referred to as "West," and "West High,". History High school classes w ...

by the

. In high school Becker, played competitive football and baseball. In football, he played quarterback and running back on offense and corner back on defense. However, he excelled on the baseball diamond and as a result had come to the attention of elite college baseball programs and scouts from MLB. Becker spent his first minor league season with the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

. He played in 56 games, had 194 at-bats with 56 base hits, including six home runs for a .289

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

. He played for the

Kenosha Twins The Kenosha Twins were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1984 to 1992. They began play in the Midwest League in 1984 when the Wisconsin Rapids Twins relocated. The team played their home games at Simmons Field ...

, Visalia Oaks and the

Nashville Xpress The Nashville Xpress were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins from 1993 to 1994. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and ...

teams before being called up to the Minnesota Twins in 1993. Becker made his MLB debut in 1993 as a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

. Appearing in three games with seven at-bats, getting two hits and it was decided that he needed another trip to the PCL Salt Lake Buzz before getting a full-time job. He was called upon again in 1994 and in 28 games with 98 at-bats he hit .265. However, he achieved greater success batting exclusively from the left side of the plate. During the 1995 minor league season, for 36 games he hit .316 and was called up again to the show with the Minnesota Twins. 1995 was Becker's first full year with the Twins. In 1996, manager Tom Kelly put Becker in the position of succeeding

Kirby Puckett Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a center fielder for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett is the Twins' all- ...

as the Twins starting center fielder. However, he responded with his best year as a major leaguer, batting .291 with 12 home runs, 71

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 ...

(RBIs) and 19 stolen bases. On July 13 of that year, he had his best day, getting four hits—including two home runs, a double, and six RBIs. However, his numbers declined the following year, and the Twins traded Becker for Alex Ochoa in December 1997. Subsequent to the trade, Becker bounced among several teams, finding marginal playing time with the

, and

. Following the 2002 season, Becker retired from baseball. His career stats in 789 MLB games are: 2,227 at-bats, 570 base hits, with 45 home runs with a .256 batting average and 66 stolen bases. Becker's minor league numbers show 770 games, 2,851 at-bats, 821 hits, with 75 home runs and a .287 batting average. Becker had spent 13 seasons in professional baseball and was just 31 years of age upon retirement. Rich Becker was the only player to come out of the third round of the 1990 draft and sustain any sort of long-term career.

References

External links

West Aurora Baseball Alumni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Rich 1972 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Illinois Calgary Cannons players Detroit Tigers players Elizabethton Twins players Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Kenosha Twins players Major League Baseball outfielders Milwaukee Brewers players Minnesota Twins players Nashville Xpress players New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players Salt Lake Buzz players Sportspeople from Aurora, Illinois Toledo Mud Hens players Visalia Oaks players