Hoge: Beckham Hopes Great Offseason Leads To Success
By Adam Hoge -
Gordon Beckham knows he can be better.
"Last year obviously I had a lot of struggles early on and toward the middle of the season," Beckham told 670TheScore.com at the Comcast Sports Net Awards Monday in Chicago. "It's stuff as a young guy you just have to go through and learn."
Learning how to cope with slumps is a hurdle Beckham has continually worked on getting over ever since he made the leap to the majors in 2009, less than a year after being drafted by the White Sox.
"I had never struggled before I came to the big leagues and then I struggled a little bit in my rookie year, not much, and then played pretty well," he said.
So when Beckham's batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, runs batted in and walks all dipped in 2010 despite playing 28 more games than he did as a rookie, he knew he had to do something about it.
"This team is really important to me," Beckham said. "I've done the work this offseason to make sure I'm ready and prepared for this year and that's all you can really do. But knowing you are prepared, knowing you have worked as hard as you could, that's always a good thing to have in your back pocket."
Part of Beckham's offseason included "Camp Cora", an offseason infield mini-camp hosted in Miami by White Sox bench coach Joey Cora. This year's attendees also included Alexei Ramirez, Brent Morel and Dayan Viciedo. The word from Camp Cora was that Ramirez put on a few pounds in the offseason and appears stronger. And despite third base being open entering spring training, the talk around the team indicates Morel will have every chance to win the job before opening day.
"We should be where we want to be," Beckham said about the infield. "Me and Alexei up the middle and whoever's on third, hopefully we can do what everybody expects us to do and I think we will. It's only going to get better from last year because me and Alexei have a year now under our belt. And obviously getting (Paul Konerko) back is huge because nobody really realizes how great he is at first base."
Beckham has often raved about Konerko as a teammate and as a captain. And while the White Sox's third-year infielder is starting to talk like a veteran, Beckham still leans on the guys in the locker room who were there long before him.
"I'm by no means a veteran," Beckham said. "When you've got guys like Paul Konerko and A.J. (Pierzynski) and Mark Buehrle there to pick you up and kind of keep you afloat in terms of mentally keeping you fresh, it always helps. Hopefully we just get off to a better start."
Getting off to a better start is something Beckham mentioned multiple times, both for him personally and for the team. With the acquisition of Adam Dunn and the resigning of Paul Konerko, the White Sox payroll is upwards of $123 million in 2011. Winning early in the season is crucial if Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and General Manager Kenny Williams want to see U.S. Cellular Field full all season long.
"We made some moves, but we look good on paper," Beckham said. "Everybody's got to show up and play and do what we're capable of and if we show up everyday and do our work we should be OK."
Speaking of showing up, you can expect to see Beckham at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona Tuesday. He's scheduled to leave Chicago on a morning flight even though position players aren't required to report to spring training until Feb. 21. Pitchers and catchers are due Thursday.
"There comes a point in every guy's offseason where they're just ready to go," Beckham said. "I've been there since last season ended, but it's finally here so it's exciting for me. I'm going to get out there a little early and get acclimated."
For more on the White Sox throughout spring training and all season long, be sure to follow Adam on Twitter @AdamHoge670.
