An old ESPN article about "Shooter" One of my favorite players of all time. Just one of the guys.
The mullet is gone, replaced by a shiny bald dome that glistens with sweat. But the Fu is still there. And so is the personality. Despite the travel delays and the doubleheaders so common in the minors, Beck is having just as much fun off the field as he's having on it.
His wife Stacey and their two daughters are back in Arizona, but he isn't alone. For it isn't uncommon for Beck to leave the clubhouse, walk home and find strangers hanging out at the RV, curious if the rumors that have spread across Iowa's capitol are true. Does Rod Beck really live here? Does he really sign autographs after games? Is he really down to earth enough that he'll offer a Coors Light and tell old baseball stories to just about anyone who stops by?
Rod Beck shared a drink with fans after helping the Cubs win the National League wild-card playoff game in 1998.
Yes.
Consider a game last week, when Beck showed up after a 3-2 Cubs win to find 11 fans milling about a plastic picnic table next to the 36-foot Winnebago Journey DL. One of the guys, confident he is welcome, but yet still nervous as Beck approaches, offers a can of Miller Lite and asks, "Is this cool? Do you want a beer?"
"Yeah," Beck says. "But sure as hell not one of those."
He unlocks a compartment beneath his RV, turns on the stereo and pulls out an ice cold Coors Light. His T-shirt reads, "You're killing my buzz," but his actions speak anything but. He tells baseball stories of the past, baseball stories of the present. He signs autographs. He offers cold beer. He gives tours of his luxury-laden RV. He lets people fiddle with the stereo, use the bathroom. On this night, his home is their home.
"Hey Shooter," one fan asks. "Can I check the Lakers score?"
"Yeah," Beck replies. "But you'll need the remote. I think it's on the table."
Complete strangers. Yet Beck welcomes them like longtime friends. Even autograph collectors, who admit they're going to take the signature Beck just gave them and sell it for a profit, are welcome.
"Hey, if you can make money off me defacing a baseball card," Beck says, "Good luck."
He's like the guy on the floor of your college dorm that has all the cool stuff: the big TV, the booming stereo, the PlayStation, the DVD player and the fridge stocked with cold beer. And his door is always open.
"I'm not a superstar in my eyes," Beck said. "I never was. If plumbing was a sport, all those guys would be on TV and I'd work 9-to-5 playing baseball. And it wouldn't mean a difference to me at all. I just like relating to people."
He hangs with teammates. He hangs with groundskeepers. He hangs with fans. Even former Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy has told people that he wants to head to Des Moines and meet Shooter.
"That would be something," Beck said.
When the neon blue light in the window goes out, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay at Rod Beck's trailer anymore.
The rules of Casa de Beck are simple. There's only one: When the neon blue, martini-glass-shaped light is on, the bar is open. When it's off, it's time to go home.
"And I promise you, that light never goes off," Cubs reliever Phil Norton said. "I'm not even sure it has a switch."
Said Beck: "I didn't want to get a liquor license, so I just give the stuff away for free."
http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/2003/0515/1554407.html
Wow, 38 is way to young. 
