Hecklers beware: Seth Beer lets his bat do the talking as legend grows |
The legend of
Seth Beer continues to grow.
Clemson’s freshman sensation added another highlight to his rookie season Tuesday night in Athens, swatting a monstrous solo homer in the eighth inning to tie the Tigers’ game with Georgia at 6-6. Clemson went on to win 11-6 in another critical midweek matchup, and Beer was once again in the middle of everything, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs to lead Clemson’s 11-hit attack. The homer was Beer’s 13th of the season, and he sits second nationally behind Samford’s Heath Quinn, who has 14. Did we mention he also has a 25-game hitting streak? Beer went hitless in the first game of his college career – the season opener against Maine – and has hit safely in each game since. Tuesday, he had walked once, been hit by pitches twice and had made an out in his only official at-bat. The Tigers trailed 6-5, and the fans out in the right field seats began to heckle Beer. Wrong move. Beer launched a blast over the scoreboard in right-center that some observers say had to travel at least 475 feet. The blast tied the score and the Tigers went on to score five more runs in the victory. Even head coach Monte Lee was amazed. “If you look at how they were working him early in the game, they were pitching him in and pitching him in,” Lee said after the game. “And they got a ball down, and when they got the ball down, man, I don’t know how far he hit that ball. That’s just Beer being Beer. It’s unbelievable. He does something amazing every game.” Beer played off his heroics, saying he was just doing his job. “It’s just one of those things. I was just trying to get on, do my job and get on base,” Beer said. “They were pitching me in and I was starting to look for those pitches and that guy kept peppering that same spot. I kept fouling them off and fouling them off and finally I just put a good swing on it. They had been heckling me all day. They said you haven’t done anything yet today and in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to do something. But it was kind of cool to hit a bomb out there to their side. I ran out there and they were kind of quiet.” Lee doesn’t hesitate to say that Beer is the best freshman hitter he’s ever coached. “I can say a lot about Seth Beer. I think first and foremost he's an extremely humble kid and he's a very mature kid. His teammates love him and he's the ultimate team guy,” Lee said. “He will tell you he is here to do everything to help our team win. He's a very selfless player, very level-headed but he can really, really hit. He's a guy that hits the ball well to all fields and he hits with power to all fields. He's very disciplined. I think what impresses me so much about him is how disciplined at the plate he is. He doesn't chase out of the zone very much but he's one of those guys that when you give him a mistake he hurts you, which is a sign of an elite hitter. He's the best freshman hitter I've seen in my time and he's off to the best start I've ever seen as a coach.” Lee says hecklers beware – Beer talks with his bat. “Seth talks with his bat. That's the thing about this kid. He's a quiet kid and doesn't have a huge personality,” Lee said. “He's very reserved, but he talks very loudly when he swings that big bat. He's just a really down to earth and mature kid and fits in really well with our guys. That's the kind of kid he is and why it's so much to be around him.” Beer just wants to keep the game simple. “It's just one those things where I'm trying to make it simple when I step up to the plate,” Beer said. “We have a good lineup and guys one through nine are getting on base. So I'm just trying to do my job and if there is a guy on second base I try to move him over to third. This is a game built on failure and you are going to fail, but if you can dumb it down to the easiest thing you can do to help your team win then that's what you need to think about. It's pretty humbling. To come out and swing the bat and help my team compete is a good feeling. My teammates are the ones helping me succeed right now and they are making it easy for me.” In case you missed @beer_seth mammoth home run against the puppies @ClemsonBaseball @ClemsonTigerNet pic.twitter.com/jMKMslqPwQ
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