Jim Beauchamp

James Edward Beauchamp (/ˈbiː-tʃʌm/ (BE-chum), August 21, 1939 – December 25, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played from to for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Colt .45s/Astros, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Mets. He attended Grove High School in Grove, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University before being signed by the Cardinals in . He was the father of former minor league baseball player Kash Beauchamp. He was 6'2' and weighed 205 pounds.

Professional career A power hitting minor leaguer, Beauchamp had perhaps the best year of his professional career in for the Double-A Tulsa Oilers, batting .337 with 31 home runs and 105 RBI. He also collected 35 doubles and 10 triples while scoring 95 runs. Beauchamp won the 1963 Texas League MVP Award, and a sign showing him in his batting stance stood outside Tulsa's Oiler Park until the stadium was demolished in 1980.

He played his final two seasons with the Mets, hitting .242 in 58 games for them in and .279 in 50 games in . He played his final regular season game on September 20, 1973, almost exactly 10 years after his big league debut. Beauchamp appeared in four games in the 1973 World Series for the Mets, going hitless in four at-bats. He was released by the Mets in March of .

Overall, Beauchamp played in 393 Major League games, collecting 153 hits in 661 at-bats for a .231 batting average. He hit 18 doubles, four triples and 14 home runs while driving in 90 RBI. He walked 54 times and struck out 150 times. Defensively, he recorded an overall .979 fielding percentage.

Coaching After his playing days ended, Beauchamp managed in the minors from to . He managed the Columbus Astros in 1975, the Memphis Blues in , the Charleston Charlies from to , the Syracuse Chiefs from to , the Greenville Braves from to and the Richmond Braves from to . From to , he was the Atlanta Braves' bench coach, and after he was the team's minor league outfield coordinator.

After baseball In 2002, Beauchamp was present with family and friends when he was honored in his hometown of Grove, Oklahoma, by naming the new Grove City Baseball Field after him nearly five decades after his high school graduation. "Jim Beauchamp Field" is home to the Qualate-Pritchard American Legion Baseball team, and the Ridgerunner Baseball team of Grove High School, where Beauchamp was an Oklahoma All-State Athlete. Beauchamp's boyhood home was across the street from where the new ballpark now stands. After the presentation, an emotional Beauchamp expressed to those present that it was the highest honor he had ever received. Coincidentally, "beau champ" in French translates as "beautiful field."

On Christmas Day, 2007, Beauchamp died following a long battle with chronic myelogenous leukemia at the age of 68.

In his honor, the Atlanta Braves wore a memorial patch emblazoned with his nickname, "Beach", during the 2008 season.

He was survived by his wife Pam; five children Kash, Tim, Ann Rene, Shanna and Lauren; six grandchildren; sister Patti Crockett; sister-in-law Kay Beauchamp; and stepmother Lee Jean Beauchamp.