A Tribute to Kenny Beecham, Tri-Valley Friend and Legend

Submitted by Art Scears, Tri-Valley MSBL

Tri Valley MSBL tragically lost one of our All-Time great guys recently and one of our absolute greatest ball players.  Kenny Beecham and I were the only remaining members of the original Tri-Valley Giants 45’s team that was started by Rob Segura in 2007.  Along the way, in large part to him, our Giants team has been Tri-Valley league champions six out of the last eight years, three-time Monterey champs, back to back Woodland champs and 2015 World Series Mountain Division World Series champs, as well as 2018 Central Division champions.  

Our Giants team actually struggled for years, but Kenny kept our spirits up with his infectious smile and his never give up personality.  He was all about the team, but he was also one of the best baseball players that Tri Valley/MSBL has ever seen.  He was my baseball brother. 

About five years ago, after winning one of our many championships together, Kenny told me that his skills were diminishing, but that he still truly enjoyed playing on our team because it was about the team, not about him. I never saw diminishing skills. What I saw one of the most feared 5-tooled MSBL players ever.  He continued to destroy opposing pitchers while still running down balls in the gap that most folks couldn’t get to. 

His last baseball moment is telling about the kind of player he was. He hit an absolute ‘mammoth’ home run which helped us to stay in first place, making our playoff run so much easier. As always, he was using that 42-ounce bat (a tree) that he used as a bat.  Normal folks couldn’t swing that thing! He slowly rounded the bases with the same huge smile he would have had if he had struck out, but to be sure, striking out rarely happened.

I believe folks will remember most that he was all about the team even though he was a superstar.  He kept us focused and together.  He always had a positive outlook, never negative.  And he absolutely always had a big smile on his face. Words cannot express how much he will be missed, both on and especially off the field. I am grateful to have known him.